


The laws of the universe were meant to be broken anyway

by Werepirechick



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-01-18 20:19:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1441513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Werepirechick/pseuds/Werepirechick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Davesprite crashes into your life, literally, how do you take it? Well, of course. Like any good fiction reader would.<br/>Will you be able to get this feathery asshole to open up to you, or is it just not meant to be?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

You hadn't meant to fall for him, and yet you had. You'd fallen for him harder than when he fell from the sky.

***********************************************************************************

The largest and longest rainstorm you'd ever seen was pounding on the windows of your house that night, lightning flashing and everything.

You'd always liked rainstorms; you like to imagine it cleansing the world of filth.

You had a cup of your favourite tea with you as you read the latest in a new series. The mood of the pages matched perfectly with your own; melancholy and wishing for company. A particularly large explosion of sound from outside made you look up from your reading.

Getting up and peering out the largest living room window, you caught sight of an unusually bright lightning strike.  
The lightning strike hit far end of your enormous backyard, one of the perks of having a country home. You pursed your lips together, that lightening might have started a fire. Even if the storm would probably put it out, you felt the need to check it out.

Gearing up in your black rain coat, you headed out into the darkened world; hauling the fire extinguisher with you. (your aunt had insisted that there be one by every exit)  
The wind was awful and you almost slipped and fell twice. Not to mention the muddy nightmare the ground had become.

As you reached the top of the small hill in front of the hit site, the wind flicked your hood back; letting your hair free and promptly blinding you. Through your tresses you squinted, trying to assess the damage to your property.  
Oh hey, orange light. That meant the grass was on fire.

You pulled the pin out of the extinguisher and readied it for combat, then headed towards the orange light. As you neared, you noticed the ground changing from grass to earth. You were now standing in a crater.  
And at the centre of the crater was a hole of orange light.

“What the fuck?” You muttered as you crept closer. Standing above the hole, you stared down at the glowing orange. It didn't flicker like fire, and you couldn't feel any heat either. Putting the extinguisher down, you dropped to your knees and reached down at the glow.

Your fingers were met with soft feeling feather. Did a magical glowing bird crash into your yard?  
Your eyes had adjusted to glow you got a good look at the creature that had come from above.

“Oh dear lord...” You breathed, your hands covering your mouth in surprise. There, lying in a muddy hole, was an honest to god angel. A glowing orange angel.

With sun glasses.

You noticed the water was beginning to fill the crater and inevitably pool in the deeper hole with the angel in it. Snapping out of your shock, you reached down and heaved the angel from his pit.  
His wings got in the way a bit, but it wasn't anything you couldn't handle. The angel was fairly light, light enough that you could carry his weight on your back no problem.

You fumbled a bit with the door before getting inside. Once in, you ignored the muddy footprints you left and laid the angel down on the couch. You ran your fingers through your soaked hair, flicking droplets of water everywhere.

Now what.

Looking him over, you noticed three things. First, he had no legs, just a long glowy snake tail thing waist downward. Second, he was also soaked and very muddy. Third, he was shivering now.  
How does one care for an angel anyway?

Dropping your rain coat and boots off in the entrance area, you proceeded to run around the house getting the necessary supplies.  
Soon, you'd dried the worst of the mud and water on your unexpected house guest and had him comfortably placed in one of the many rooms of your oversized house. Well, your Aunt's house; but she was only around like once a month so it basically was yours.

You held the sun glasses the angel had been wearing, they were cracked and dirty; and surprise, surprise, orange just like everything else about him. Were all angels orange, or did they come in an array of colours.

You looked over at the sleeping form of him, glowing just the same as he'd been outside. His wings had been a bit difficult to deal with, but eventually you'd managed to lay him on his side and tuck them against his back.

Before that, you'd made sure they weren't broken. You thought they weren't broken at least, they'd opened and close easily enough; that had to be a good sign.

You sighed and flicked a bit of dried mud off the shades in your hands, waiting for the angel to wake up was more boring than you'd thought it would be. But you were too wired to think about anything else, a book couldn't remedy this.

But maybe some cooking could. You hadn't had dinner yet anyway, and you were sure your guest was going to be hungry when he finally rose from slumber. If angels ate anything that is.

You stood up and let yourself out of the room quietly, stopping halfway to whisper “Sleep tight angel” before closing the door with only a slight creak.

***********************************************************************************

It was about three in the morning when he finally awoke.  
You were mulling over your thoughts in a fit of insomnia when you heard a crash coming from the upper floors, where you'd left the angel.

Placing the notepad you'd been doodling on the coffee table, you headed up stairs to investigate the noise that undoubtedly was coming from your guest.  
You walked light footed and as quietly as you could, peeking around the corner into the hallway.

The angel was indeed up, and he seemed to searching for something. And muttering to himself.

“Shit, shit, shit! Where are they? Where the hell am I?” He whispered to himself as he swooped around the hall, flapping his wings now and again. You watched as he opened a few rooms and looked into them. You weren't worried about privacy, there wasn't anything in those rooms anyway.  
Except your own which he was entering right that moment.

“Holy shit, the hell kind of room is this?” He said out loud as he entered your private space, your sanctuary. Ignoring the need for caution, you rushed at his floating form; tackling him to the ground.  
Or that was the plan at least, he avoided you easily.

He didn't say anything as you sat rubbing your now sore arms. You glared at him pointed an accusatory finger at him. “It's not nice to invade a girl's privacy you know!”

He stared blankly at you for moment, his eye brows knotted in confusion, before answering. “...Who the hell are you?”

“I'm (insert name here), now get out of my room!” You stood up quickly and continued. “I don't care if you’re an angel or not, my room is my space! And you’re not welcome!”

He responded with a cross between a snort and laugh.

“What're you talking about? Like hell I'm an angel!” He said, shaking with repressed laughter.

You blinked rapidly. “You’re not...? But what about your wings! And you fell out of the sky! And your all glowy and stuff! If you’re not an angel, then what the hell are you?”

“That is a very long clusterfuck of a tale, please don't ask me to elaborate,” He said, waving his hand; dismissing the subject. He then crossed his arms and frowned. “Now where the fuck did you put my shades? I feel fucking naked without them.”

“Downstairs,” You pointed towards the stairs. “Follow me.”

You start walking back down, ignoring his gaze on your back. Okay, so he wasn't an angel. That was a tiny bit of a disappointment. But on the bright side, he could still be an alien or something. Whatever he was, he certainly didn't look human.

You shot a look over your shoulder; he was following you, but in his own fashion. He floated about five feet off the ground, using his wings to change direction every few moments. With the house mostly dark, his orange glow was all you had to go by; but it was more than enough.

“In here,” You said as you both entered the kitchen. It was clean as a whistle, courtesy of your cleaning frenzy; a result of the long hours waiting for your guest to wake up. He swooped past you soon as he caught sight of his shades, which had been resting on the table next to his dinner.

He slipped them on and sighed in relief. Guess those sun glasses were really important to him.

“There's no way they were this clean after I did that belly flop into the ground. You clean them?” He asked, pointing at the sparkly clean lenses.

You shrugged. “Seemed like the right thing to do. But they're kind of cracked. Couldn't do much to fix that. Sorry.”

“Naw man, this is great. Thanks. Really,” He said. His gaze flickered to the food on the table. “Soooooo, am I to assume the delicacies on the table are for me?”

“Go right ahead,” Before you could even finish saying that, he was on the food like a starving man. You watched as he devoured the whole plate in seconds. Sitting down, you stared at him from across the table. Propping yourself up on your elbows, you asked him a question. “So what's your name space cadet?”

“.....” He didn't respond. Swallowing the mouthful of food, he burped and leaned back in his chair. “Name's Davesprite. Howdy.”

“Davesprite huh,” You raised an eyebrow. “Interesting name. Do all angels have odd names?”

“I told you I’m not an angel.”

“I don't really have anything else to call you.”

Davesprite leant his head to the side, a motion that was probably accompanied by eye rolling. “How about this, you call me what I am? Which is a sprite by the way.”

You looked into your vast memories and knowledge of fictional and non-fictional creatures. It took a second for you to get the words out. “You're a... fairy?”

Davesprite grimaced. “Hell. No. I am not some prissy little girl’s imaginary friend. I am a game sprite. I’m not even remotely related to fairies. Don't even bring that up.”

It was your turn to roll your eyes. “Fine, fine. Don't get your feathers in a wad,” You reached over and took his plate. “Seconds?”

“Absolutely.”

“Alrighty then,” You got up and started pulling leftovers out of the oversized fridge. Everything in the mansion was like that, oversized and fairly empty. You spoke to him as you piled some more mashed potatoes on his plate. “Tell me Davesprite, you said you’re a game sprite? How does that work exactly, are from a video game?”

“Kind of I guess, but it was a video game on a cosmic level. Shit was so not a run of the mill kids play toy, that's for sure. Should have never played that fucking death trap. Destroyed two universes, not one, two fucking universes.”

You came back to the table with the once again full plate. Davesprite mumbled some thanks before digging in again. You watched him as you thought. A game? What kind of game? And how was it a death trap? And blowing up universes? Was that even possible?

You'd always been a believer in the impossible, but that sounded farfetched even to you.

“So, you got a name?” Davesprite asked suddenly, bringing you back to the present.

“Uh, yeah, my name's (Your name here),” You brushed some loose hairs from your face. “By the way, in case you were wondering, we're the only ones in the house right now. My Aunt is somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle at the moment, and I doubt she'll be back any time soon. So you can stay as long as you want. But if you do anything at all that endangers my safety, I may have you bludgeon you.”

“Noted (YNH), I’ll keep that in mind,” Davesprite replied coolly, pulling a poker face. “So I’m guessing you have a strife specibus? Something involving blunt force trauma?”

“Baseball bats and extinguishers. The latter being a bit unconventional, but is actually very effective. Not to mention that they're very easy to find in this house, my Aunt was adamant about having them in every single room. Even the bathrooms.”

“Weird Aunt.”

“Says the birdy boy fairy,” You said with a smirk. This elicits a smirk back from Davesprite.

“You’re alright, (YNH),” He said, crossing his arms. “Haven't met many girls who could go toe to toe with me. When I had toes at least.”

“You had feet at some point? That's surprising. Where'd they go?”

“Another story for another time, right now I’m too tired to think. You have any good movies to watch? Do you even have a TV? What day is it anyway? Did I even end up in the twenty-first century? Shit, am I in the nineties? If I am I swear to god I will throw myself back into the space time stream.”

“Wow, motor mouth much? And yes, this is the twenty-first century. Twenty fourteen actually. What time did you come from? You seem to know enough about modern appliances so it can't be too far off from now...”

“Close enough to this time that I’ll be fine. Now, about that TV...?” Davesprite asked, looking towards the hallways leading away from the brightly lit kitchen and into the darken house.

“Downstairs, I have what is basically a home theater. Not kidding,” You grab his dishes and throw them in the sink. You'll wash them later. “You wanna watch something, even though it's some ridiculous time in the night?”

“Hell yes, I haven't watched a new movie in years. I’ve had to deal with fucking Nic Cage for three fucking years; I am even more done than burrito tossed into a volcano. Take me to the movies (YNH), I'm begging you.”

You laughed a little at his weird metaphor, and lead him into the basement.  
He practically swooned at the massive room, even rapped a little about the plush red couches that dotted the room. Who knew magical floating bird boys could rap? And pretty well at that.

He chose a Muppets movie oddly enough, his poker face softening as he found it on the shelf. He handed it to you and the flicker emotions were gone. You popped it into the system without much more than a comment about how you enjoyed the movie yourself, only getting a mumbled sound in response.

“Can I sit here?” You asked, coming over to his claimed spot on the middle couch, your favourite one no less.

“Your house isn't it?”

“Technically my Aunt's.”

“Same thing,” He shrugged. He shifted over to the other side of the couch and tucked his wings behind his back. You thanked him and took a seat on the other end, brushing away a stray orange feather. You both sat back and watched the trailers, content to leave the un-asked question hanging in the air for now.

Davesprite didn't make it through even twenty minutes of the movie, falling asleep as Gonzo started his adventure to show his alien brethren he was there.  
You snickered a little when you noticed he was drooling a little. Poor thing, too tired to stay awake anymore. You also noticed that the mud that had been everywhere on him had disappeared. Now how had that happened?

You shook your head and muttered about sprites and their weird magic. Ah well, another mystery to investigate at a later date. You felt eyes getting bleary, and you rubbed them.  
Flicking the movie off, you lifted yourself up with a little bit of a stumble and groped the side of the room for the shelves that had the blankets. Pulling the first one you find, you headed back to the couch with Davesprite sleeping on it. You pulled him down from his sitting position and lay him out with the Hello Kitty blanket covering him.

Satisfied that he'd be safe and comfy for the night, you stretched and left to retire to your own room.  
You'd see more of Davesprite tomorrow anyways, assuming this wasn't some dream. You really hoped it wasn't.


	2. Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, I hope your enjoying this fic.  
> I'll update whenever I can, so just be patient, okay?

Two steps forward, one step back.  
***********************************************************************************

You woke up the next day with a groggy, cloud filled brain. This always happened when you stayed awake too late; it was an unpleasant after effect for an activity you generally enjoyed.  
Turning over, you pulled off the pillow enough to the clock on the wall across the room. Eleven thirty.

You rubbed your gritty eyes and flopped back into the covers, you needed at least another half hour of sleep. You close your eyes and let yourself drift back into semi-consciousness. But something in the back of your mind wouldn't let you fall asleep fully.  
You bolted up in bed. That was right! Davesprite!

Kicking the comforter off your body, you scrambled out of bed; only stopping for a moment to grab your slippers.  
Your nightgown fluttered around your legs as you hiked it to the theater, your hair streaming behind you. Bursting through the doors, you stumbled into the last place you'd left him. You scanned the room for him. Nothing.

You couldn't help the pool of disappointment that bubbled up into your chest. It'd been a dream after all. Too good to be true, who were you kidding? No way something that cool could have happened, no way a magical sprite boy would fall into your life like that.  
Shaking yourself, trying to leave the sadness behind, you headed back to the kitchen; dragging your feet the whole way.

Not even the blanket had been there, the whole room had been pristine. No sign of any disturbances at all.  
Mulling over this depressing thoughts, you pulled open the fridge and tugged out the milk. You were too tired and down to put effort into a real breakfast. Snagging a box of cheerios from the cupboard, you sat down heavily at the table and poured your cereal sulkily.

You'd only taken a single gulp when you noticed that there was more than just your cereal on the table. Almost tossing your cereal aside, you reached out and pulled the foreign food to your seating. It was some mildly burnt bacon and eggs, with a slice of poorly buttered toast.  
You sure as heck didn't make this, even if you'd only been kind of awake you would have made sure the butter was spread evenly across.

There was also a note stuck on top.

'yo thanks for the food last night so heres a shitty return  
gone flying be back later', The note read. The writing on the paper was glowing too, neon orange.

You sat back in your chair, it had been real. Davesprite was real. Holy shit you didn't dream it up. You let yourself smile a terribly goofy smile as you ate his attempt at breakfast foods. Afterwards you practically skipped up the stairs to your room to get dressed.

Pulling on your favourite pair of jeans and t-shirt, you then hurried a brush through your hair; making sure all the snarls and tangles were out. You wanted to look presentable for your birdy guest.  
Not that you were trying to impress him or anything, you just wanted to look good for the first person you'd seen in a long time.

Descending the stairs, two at a time, you pulled on your shoes and tossed open the door. The wind that greeted you was warm and smelled of summer heat.  
You took a deep breath and walked out into the sunlight.

The sun hit your skin and you got goose bumps from the warmth. You surveyed the yard and assessed the damage from last night's storm. Good god, this was going to take forever. The patio furniture had been knocked over and the umbrella for the table had somehow been flipped inside out even though the metal should have been too strong.  
It just got worse from there; the paths around the house were muddy and riddled with stray leaves.  
You sighed and scratched your cheek; this was going to be a doozy of a job. You decided to stop procrastinating and just get down to work. You hauled the yard work tools and started on the mess.

About forty-five minutes later, the sidewalks are clean and the leaves have been shoved into plastic garbage bags. The patio furniture have been rightened and you'd blessedly been able to wrench the umbrella back into its proper shape.  
The crater in the ground was a lost cause, you were going to just it grow over with grass. You'd found the fire extinguisher from last night too, when you had rush in with Davesprite you had abandoned it to the elements. It was still in its preserved state, so there was no issue.

Feeling satisfied, you recline in one of the chairs with a much deserved iced tea. You watched the clouds as they drifted by, and wondered to yourself where Davesprite was. Had he left? It'd been a while since he went out; shouldn't he have been back by now?  
Maybe he'd just left. Went off to do bird-boy things.

You sighed and blew some stray hairs out of your face; there was no use in dwelling on thoughts like that.

“Yo,” A voice said from behind your chair. You flipped around and spilled your drink in the process. Your cheeks burned as Davesprite chuckled lightly. “Skittish much, wow. Your wound tighter than a spring in a clock, lighten up.”

“You surprised me, that's all,” You huff. He makes a grunt in response. “So where'd you go? I got your note by the way.”

“Just out and about. Nice place you got here by the way, i think i counted like two kilometers each way. You loaded or something?”

“I'm not, my Aunt is. She owns the house remember?”

“How is that a house?” He gestured to the enormous building behind you two. “You live in a mansion. I grew up in a shitty apartment, you got to spend you childhood in. A. Mansion. I call unfair favouritism by the world and fate.”

“I'll have you know I’ve only lived here for a few years, i originally came from a middle class family; so don't get your panties in a wad.”

“I don't have panties. Or legs.”

“Hush, you know what i mean,” You replied. “You thirsty? I have some drinks out. I need a refill anyway, thanks to you.”

“You have apple juice?” He asked, perking up.

“In the pantry maybe.”

“Lead the way,” He was a blur, and then suddenly by the patio door. “C'mon, i need my AJ. I’m dying of thirst, gonna get heat stroke or some shit if you don't attend to me soon.”

You couldn't help but laugh; he'd said that whole thing a straight face. Impressive. “I'm coming, don't get your-”

“-Panties in a wad?” He interjects.

“I was going to say 'feathers ruffled'.”

Davesprite gave you a look, and you could see the edges of his lips twitching. Success. Pushing him out of the way, you entered the main kitchen. You had a second one upstairs, but that one was mostly stocked with junk food and basic snacks. “So why apple juice? You pegged me as the kind of guy would, i don't know, drink something with a ton of caffeine or something.”

“Are you kidding? AJ is the drink of the gods. The classless masses have no sense of taste, chugging crap all day. Nothing compares. Nothing,” He said very seriously, his mouth set and though you couldn't see them, his eyebrows were probably pointing downwards.

“I get, apple juice is amazing and we should build monuments and sacrificial alters across the country; where we will bow and grovel every Sunday,” You only just managed to say this without completely losing it.

“Yes, that is exactly what we should do. Start investing in marble work companies, this is going to be the project of the century,” He said as you entered the walk in pantry. Your Aunt had always made sure that you plenty of food around, there was probably enough in here to feed a whole battle ship of people.  
You found what you were searching for, way in the back.

Emerging from the dark room, you tossed the packet of juice cans at him. You laughed quietly at the fact that this elicited what sounded like a caw of happiness.  
He wasted no time cracking one of the cans open and gulping it down. You'd never seen someone drink apple juice quite that enthusiastically.

“Yes. Hell yes. Hell fucking yes,” He said, cracking open another one. “I haven't had decent AJ in months.” He took another gulp before continuing. “I will never be able to thank you enough YNH, you've saved me from a drought like no other.”

“Oh my god, you’re a dork,” You said with a roll of your eyes.

“What?” Davesprite stopped in the middle of pulling another can out.

“You’re a dork.”

He straightened and raised an eyebrow above his shades. “Strider are not dorks. I am not a dork. I am as cool as the arctic in the middle of a blizzard. I’m so cool penguins freeze in my mere presence. I’m so cool i could save the ice caps just by spinning some sick rhymes at them. I’m so cool-”

“Oh god, stop! I get it, your cool!” You threw your hands up in defeat. “Just, stahp saying you’re cool, okay?”

“You got it,” He took another swig of his apple juice. Within the next five minutes, every single bottle had been emptied. You were sure that he'd broken some kind of record.

You had yourself another iced tea while he guzzled, waiting for him to come back to... sensibility? No, Davesprite didn't seem very sensible to you. Clever? Maybe. Sensible, no.

“Sooooo...” You swirled your drink around, creating a small water tornado. “You mentioned the name “Strider” in the middle of your monologue. Is that your last name? Davesprite Strider?”

Davesprite didn't answer; he instead chose to take another gulp of AJ. “That wasn't supposed to slip out.”

“Well, it did, so spill mister.”

“I've only know you for a day, s'not like I’m gonna tell you my sob story of a life already. That's at least half way into whatever shitty romcom we're stealing the plot from.”

“It's my house, and you’re the one staying in it. So pay up with a good sob story, i love those.”

“I thought i made up for that with the fabulous breakfast i made you,” He quirked an eyebrow at you.

You stuck out your tongue. “I could have made better breakfast in my sleep, you didn't even butter all around the edges.”

“Really? I was sure i did that and served it on a silver platter too. Was the meal not up to your standards? If so, please forgive ma'am. I haven't used a stove in a while, being a sprite and all.”

You leaned your head to the side. “Does being a sprite mean you don't eat?”

“It's optional,” He grunted back.

“You seemed pretty desperate for the apple juice.”

“When i say it's optional, i mean i won't die from it. Just feel awful, not dead, just awful sick feeling. It's useful, but a really lame ability. Nannasprite got a laser-cookie eye, and what did i get? Practically nothing. Real rip off.”

“You make it sound like you weren't always a sprite,” You looked at him straight across the table, trying to futilely catch his eye through his shades. “Were you a human before? You look like one. Did you get cursed or something? Piss off an evil wizard?”

“Ha, i wish. Naw, this was my own idea,” He gestured down at his legless body and his wings. “These alterations were my own decision and doing. No one helped me, heck, they even told me it wasn't the best idea; but it was the only one i had at that point. The only one that stopped my friends from-” He broke off.

“Dying, right?” You said. He didn't move, not even a twitch. “I've read enough books to know what kind of plot your living.”

“If only, plots like those still have the guy get the girl right? Hero stuff, yeah that's not me. I’m not hero,” Davesprite frowned and put his last empty bottle down. “Thanks for the juice, but i need to go.”

“Go where?” You said as he floated off his chair and headed for the door.

“Places, probably my old haunts. I wanna take a look at what kind of earth this is,” He opened the screen door and drifted out into the sunlight. “I need to check on some people, see if anyone else got here.”

“Wait, you can't leave yet!” You ran out and grabbed his arm. “I only just met you, and i have a ton of questions about everything. Where you came from, where you going, who you really are!”

He looked at your hand for a second, then brushed you off. “You don't need to know that stuff, it's not nice.”

“But i want to! I’m a reader and a writer, i can't just let the person with most likely the greatest back story ever just waltz right out of my life,” You grabbed his arm again and tugged him back. He let himself be dragged back inside, and you continued your reasoning. “You fell out of the sky in the middle of a wicked ass storm, that's just screams “Interesting life story!” right there! Besides, how are you going to get around without arousing suspicion? Your glowing orange for Christ sake! Stop and think about this!”

“I can take care of myself,” He said with a dragged out sigh. “You don't have any say on what i do anyway. Like i said earlier, you only just met me and i only just met you. Thanks for saving my life, but i don't really owe you anything. Well, i guess i kind of do; but i don't have a reason to follow up on that.”

“It's common courtesy!” You insisted.

“Like that applies to me anymore.”

“Look! I can help you!” You stomped your foot for good measure. “I happen to have a ton of money with nothing to spend it on. I’m homeschooled, alone in the country, and seriously fucking bored. You need to go places, see people? Fine, but I’m coming too. I can get you to those places within hours. How were you going to get there? By flying? Where ever you were going, I’m pretty sure it was a long ways away. Flying would be stupid; you'd tire yourself out before you even got halfway!”

“Flying is awesome and i would be fine. Now lemme get on with my road trip and I’ll get out of your life,” He pulled away with more force that time and started for the doors again.

“You know I’m right!” You walked right behind as he flew out again. “It would be easy, you tell me about what happened to you and I’d get you places, give you first class comforts on the way, and pat for all the expenses. All you need to do is tell me your story.”

He just floated there once you'd finished, not saying anything. You began to twine your fingers together in nervousness, what if he refused?  
He didn't though.

“Fine, i get your point,” He turned around and crossed his arms. “You help me, I’ll talk to you. But it'll be on my conditions and terms. I’m not letting you hear a peep either until we're on our way. And you gotta guarantee I’m not gonna end up some sick experiment on a government lab table.”

“Done deal,” You held out your hand and he took it. Begrudgingly yes, but he shook anyway. “So where to first?”

“Houston, Texas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading again.  
> I don't know when the next chapter will be out, but I'll try to remember to put into my daily schedule!


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Chucks a chapter at you all and hides because of shit up dating speed*

Earning trust is harder than some expect.

***********************************************************************************

 

That night, you made a call to your Aunt; who you hadn’t spoken to in a few days. She’d been at a conference with her board of directors, so you hadn’t wanted to bother her.

“(YNH)! Honey! How are you doing? House still intact? You need anything?” Your Aunt’s excited voice filled your ears when she’d picked the phone on the second ring. “I just got out of my third meeting today, and I’m headed for another one right now so this has to be quick, sorry.”

“That’s okay, I know you’re busy. I just need to ask a favor, a big one.”

“Ask away darling!”

“What would you say to me going on a world-wide trip? With a friend,” You waited for you Aunt to answer, worried she’d say no.

“You made a friend? That’s great! I was concerned you’d end up rotting away in a pile of those novels of yours. So how’d you meet this friend of yours?”

“Uh…” ‘I met him when he fell out of the sky and made a crater in our lawn’. Yeah, that wouldn’t sound crazy at all. “He’s a friend from my hometown that I’ve, uh, got back into contact with. I haven’t seen him since I left so we’d like to restart our friendship.”

“Ah, I see,” Your Aunt’s tone changed when you mentioned your hometown. It’s been a few years since you’d left, and since then you hadn’t really talked to anyone you’d known back then. You felt bad for lying to your Aunt, but Davesprite needed your help. That was more important.

“Tell you what,” Your Aunt continued. “I’ll let you go on this trip, but only if I get to meet your friend face to face! I can’t have my favourite niece go galloping off with some boy I know nothing of!”

Time to panic. “I’m not sure if Davesp-, I mean Dave would want… I mean-“

“That’s my final offer sweetie, if I can’t meet him, you’re not allowed to go on the trip,” You recognized the fact that your Aunt wasn’t going to budge on the subject.

“Alright. But I need to warn you… he’s not exactly ‘normal’. You have to promise me you won’t freak out and tell the media or anything,” This was a dangerous move, but it was necessary.

“You make it sound like your friend’s a werewolf!” Your Aunt gave a laugh. “But seriously though, what could possibly be so strange about him I’d tell the media for goodness sake?”

“You’ll be surprised. Anyway, do you promise?”

“Yes hun, I promise.”

“Great, thanks Auntie.”

“Welcome dearie. So, I’ll have the jet ready by early morning. Than you can fly right over here to have brunch with me!”

“Um, where are you exactly again?” In all the mess with her leaving suddenly for her business trip, she’d neglected to tell you where she was going to be after the Bermuda Triangle.

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I’m in Canada! Lovely place, Jasper Park. You’re going to just die for the boutiques here, the dresses are right up your ally!” She replied with a chipper voice. “When you two get here, we'll go out to eat at this wonderful little restaurant. Did you know they serve bison burgers there?”

“That's great, I’ll tell Dave about that,” You pushed the growing nervousness in your stomach. “The driver will be the same as always right?”

“Yes, Edson will be driving you.”

“Cool, I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Goodbye dear!”

“G'bye Auntie,” You listen to the sound of her hanging up before you hang yourself. Looking at the phone in your hand, you suddenly have the urge to chuck it through a window. You don't act on that, and you forced yourself to put it down on the coffee table.  
You ended up taking a few moments to scream quietly into a pillow on the couch. How were you going to explain this to Davesprite?

And speak of the devil, Davesprite chose to make his appearance that moment.

“Sup, what's with the noise?” He said with a tilt of his head.

“Problems, that's what,” You replied, your voice muffled by the pillows of the couch.

He raised an eye brow above his shades. “What kind of problems? Is it the we-can-still-fix-this kind or is the we're-fucked problems?”

“Possibly both, maybe more of the last one. My Aunt won't let us use the jet unless she gets to meet you.” Davesprite's impassive face didn't change, he just kind of stared at you silently. You propped yourself up on your elbows and blew some hair out of your face. “Look, I’m sure we can work this out. My Auntie's a very reasonable person. I don't think you seeing her for a single time will end badly.”

“Yeah, and that's not the plot for a shit ton of animes. Please, she's gonna take one look at this orange face of mine and proceed to freak the fuck out. I’ll be in the tender care of the government’s top scientists by noon.”

“Have some faith in my judgement, okay? If that happens, well, it won't. I wouldn't let them do that to you,” The last words were out of your mouth before you'd really thought it through. Then you realized that it was true, you'd never let anyone do that to Davesprite; not in a million years.

Davesprite crossed his arms and slouched as much a floating person could. “If this goes south, then I’ll be ditching.”

“I promise it won't. And did you just make a bird pun?”

“I did nothing of the sort.”

“Oh my god, you did!” You face palmed and laughed. Davesprite’s poker face became as disapproving as it could and you knew he must be rolling his eyes. “Ha! The cool guy does bird puns, maybe he's not as cool as he says!”

“You questioning my coolness again? Do we need to do a repeat of earlier today? Because I all set to talk till your ears bleed for mercy.”

“I get, don't start to monologuing, please!” You cried flopping onto your back dramatically. You placed an arm over your eyes to add effect. Davesprite lets out something close to a laugh, but more of a quite huff of breath.

“So what's up for food tonight? Gotta keep your house guest don't you?” He asked, gliding over to sit in one of the nearby chairs, his tail twitching slightly.

“I don't really feel like cooking. Which is a problem because I know you can't cook.”

“Wanna order a pizza then?”

“We're in the middle of the country, the closest city is a hour drive from here.”

“Edit to my idea then, want to order pizza and be dicks about it?”

You smile deviously, that sounds like a lot of fun. “Should we order the most complicated kind of pizza too then?”

“Definitely.”

 

***********************************************************************************

You do indeed end up ordering pizza and being dicks about it.  
Your order was two large pizzas: one meat lover's delight, hold the meat, with anchovies, onions, butterscotch taffy, apple slices, and a smiley face button. The second one is cheese, plain good old cheese.

You used the internet to order, so they couldn't refuse verbally.  
The pizzas arrived an hour and half later in the hands of a very grumpy delivery boy.

He doesn't speak to you, he just gives you the most unimpressed look you've ever seen. Once he's shoved both of the pizzas into your hands he holds out his hand and makes grabbing motions. You give him his money and a large tip, and he gone.  
You don't think they'll ever let you order pizza there again.

“Davesprite?” You call out, slamming the door with your foot. “Pizzas are here!”

He comes flying around the stair way corner and lands (floats) in front of you. “Sweet, did they get it right?”

“From the look on that delivery boy's face, I think so,” You open the top box and find the yuckiest pizza you've encountered. The sauce and cheese look messed, the anchovies and butterscotch have managed to get into each other, the onions smell funny, the apples are brown and strange looking, and there in the centre was a goopy pin button with a smiley face on it. You handed the pizzas off to Davesprite before you dissolve onto the floor in a fit of laughter.

“I... can't... believe they actually did it!” You say breathlessly.

“Of course they were going to, pizza places never pass up a job,” Davesprite says, poker facing you again. He cracks a slight smile as he continues. “Pretty sweet pizza though.”

“I concur,” You reply, pulling yourself up off the floor. “Ready to eat now?”

 

You both finish the night with movies and discussing plans. It's an easy, companionable atmosphere, unbroken and probably the nicest evening you've had in a long time.  
Davesprite shocks you though by eating the entire joke pizza, excluding the smiley face button; which he pins to his shirt.

He claims it's ironic as fuck when you raise your eyebrow at him.

Eventually, you call it a night because the plane ride is coming awfully early and your already not a morning person. So you say goodnight to him and let him have free rein of the movies room.

“Cool, see you in the morning then,” He says as you leave.

Once you've shed your day clothes, you dress quickly, brush your teeth, set your alarm and hop into bed. Stretching out your limbs, you snuggle down under the covers, nervous and excited at the same time. Mostly nervous.

***********************************************************************************

The morning does indeed come too early. Your alarm signaled its presence at six in the morning, the time you'd sadly had to set it at. Groaning, you slapped your hand around until the sound stopped. Rolling onto your back, you rubbed your eyes.  
Ugh, mornings.

With great effort, you haul yourself from the comforts of bed. A splash of cold water in the bathroom helps a bit, but you'll need caffeine to be fully human again.  
You finish getting yourself presentable, then shove some things in a suitcase. You'd thought about packing last night, but weren't able to find the energy. After throwing an assortment of clothes in, you drag it behind you down to the living room.

Davesprite isn't there, no surprise. No one should be awake at this ungodly hour. Checking the clock, it now read six forty-nine. Time to rouse Davesprite. Since you don't think he left the theater last night, that's where you head.

You open the doors to the theater as quietly as you can. Davesprite's still on the couch, tucked under the blanket from the first night he was here. Creeping across the floor you can hear his soft breaths. You shake his shoulder gently. “Davesprite, time to get up. Our ride's going to be here in a bit.”

His response is mumbled sleep words and turning over. Or, he tried to, but his wings got in the way. Huffing, you shook him a little less gently. “C'mon, we need to get you into a disguise. My driver won't take kindly to a orange bird boy in his car.”

“Five more minutes...” He flicked his sprite tail at your legs and put his hand over his eyes.

“Sorry, but don't have five more minutes. Edson, our driver, will be here really soon.”

“Mrr,” Davesprite finally turned his head towards you; you couldn't see his eyes, but you assumed he was glaring at you. “... You sure we don't have time for more sleep?”

“Nope.”

“Damn,” Davesprite let his arm flop down over the edge of the couch. “So what's this about a disguise...?”

“It's upstairs in one of my spare bedrooms,” You grab his hand and pull him off the cushions. “This won't take too long, promise. As soon as we're on the plane you take it off, they pilots and stewards won't bother us.”

“M'kay. Can i have breakfast first though? I don't want to have to eat my own arm or something...”

“Oh just get up, your too delirious to start making a paragraph worth of words. I’ll get you the clothes, then I’ll grab you something to eat while you get dressed.”

“Make sure there's apple juice included,” Davesprite says as he floats up from the couch and stretches his arms out, yawning slightly.

 

***********************************************************************************

 

Your shoving some food into a container when Davesprite finds you next. You'd given him a bag with his disguise in it, and then you'd gotten a call from Edson, telling you that he'd be there soon; only ten minutes out now.  
Your soon to be travel partner's entrance was very sudden, Davesprite's poker face still in place, but he was letting off a wave of disapproval.

“What the hell,” He asks pulling the all black clothes from the bag. “Is this?”

“It's a traditional set of clothing for Muslim woman, i forget what it's called though,” You say, your voice innocent. The dress and other pieces would cover Davesprite head to toe, or tail rather. The part would go over his head has the eyes covered too, so no one see even a slight of his orange glow; at least not in the day light.

“Why did you give this to me? I can't wear this, I’m a guy!”

“Well your going to have to, i don't have anything else that'll cover you all the way,” You take the clothes from his hands, mindful of the clawed tips of his fingers, and dust them off. Folding them neatly again, you hand them back. “Now go change, Edson will be here literally any minute.”

“I won't stand for this, the jury objects against this movement. I demand a different last second plan be instigated.”

“Tough, because that's all we got. Now shoo, I hear Edson,” You push past Davesprite and head for the front entry, you hear the crunch of gravel under tires outside. Time for departure. Edson politely rings the doorbell and you answer with a smile. “Good morning Edson.”

“Good morning Miss (YNH), I trust your prepared to leave? You and your friend both?” Edson's wizened face crinkles with smile lines as he tips his hat at you. Edson's about fifty now, but your Aunt has continued to employ him because he's the only driver that can put up with her eccentricities.

“Yep, she's just finishing getting dressed,” You reply. “Could you help me get my suitcase into the car? It's a bit heavy.”

“Of course,” Edson picks up your suitcase by its handle with ease and strider off with it. He also is incredibly strong for his age, and a retired body guard. You understand why your Aunt keeps him around, no one else is a chauffeur/body guard these days; they aren't really in demand.

Rustling fabric catches your attention and you turn to face the now disguised Davesprite. He's completely covered now, and there is little chance someone will notice what he really looks like.

“I have a very high tolerance for BS, but this is close to breaking that meter,” He dead pans, his voice slightly muffled by the veil.

“It won't be for very long alright? And by the way, no speaking. Edson thinks you’re a girl.”

Davesprite's orange, clawed hands emerge from under the clothes long enough to face x2 then they vanish again. His sigh is audible. “Let's just get this over with.”

The car ride to the airport is uneventful, Davesprite is quiet the whole way and you don't attempt to start any conversation with him or Edson; not that Davesprite would be able to talk anyway. Instead, you pull out a black, plain note book from your purse and begin jotting down your up to date time spent with Davesprite. You toss in a few theories too, considering what kind of situation he's emerged from. Definitely tragic if you've read him correctly. By the time the car reaches the airport, your head is swamped with possibilities. You can't wait to get on the plane and start questioning Davesprite.

Since your Aunt is kind of a big shot, you get to skip security checks and the car is allowed to be pulled right up to the plane. Convenient when you need to keep someone's identity under wraps.  
Your luggage is taken and put into the cargo and you and Davesprite board the plane.

Inside is just as luxurious as last time you flew. Instead of uncomfortable isle of seats, there are plush leather chairs, comfy carpet floor, and a snack/drink bar. There is alcohol, but you've never been inclined to try it.  
Davesprite sits down as humanly as possible, trying to keep from flouting up. The attendant comes in briefly to introduce herself and leaves just as quickly when you tell her you want to be let alone for the flight. Once the plane has left the ground, you relax; no one will be bothering you now.

“You can take off the disguise now,” You tell Davesprite. You hear a muffled “Finally” as you dig out your note book again. You tap your pencil against your leg as you survey your list of questions; they're all organized in categories of “okay”, “probably not okay”, and “mostly likely to not ever be answered”. Looking up, you catch Davesprite looking at you. He looks like he's waiting for you to get on with it. Leaning back and crossing your legs, you begin. “So, Davesprite, can you tell me how you ended up here?”

“... Sure,” He replies, not overly willing, but not hostile. “I was with two of my friends, players in the game I’m from, and we were traveling between universes.” You raise your eye brow. Universes huh? He ignores your raised eye brow. “We were traveling on a gold battle ship. Crazy right? It wasn't even powered though, Jade was the one powering it. She has these witchy space powers, real neat shit. You know, she once shrunk a meteor the size of Manhattan down to fist size. Saved both of our asses that way. It was damn awesome.”

You scribble furiously, forgoing your usual sense of ordered writing.

“Anyway, like i said, we were speeding between universes and heading for the next session when we hit some kind of snag in paradox space. It fucked up Jade's control of the ship and we slid into some shitty turbulence. I don't think they noticed, but during all the clusterfuck of getting the ship back on course I got tossed overboard and into a rip in space. Which ended me face planted in your lawn. The end,” He crosses his arms and his tail flicks slightly on the carpet.

“Wow, quite the journey. And you said there was another person? Who was that?”

“That was John, he's a derp with a wind sock hood. I’m not even sure how he managed to God Tier; probably through sheer derping around.”

You pause in your writing. “You also said that they probably didn't notice, whys that? Aren't they your friends?”

Davesprite makes a derisive sound. “I'm a sprite made from an alternate version of one of their friends. It's not like I’m irreplaceable. The whole point of a sprite is to help the players along. Nothing more, nothing less. I wasn't even supposed to make it out of the doomed game session.” He turns his head away, towards the window where the clouds are rolling by. “Sprites aren't important over all, we're the expendable pieces.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again. Sorry for the lengthy gap between updates. I got sucked into finals and then I was hit by the fact that I can't write dialogue to save my life. Thanks for reading, your all really wonderful people! :>


	4. Part Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hello, sup.  
> Here's a chapter, so enjoy. ;>

Davesprite doesn't want to answer any more of your questions after that. Understandable of course. From what it sounds like, he's got some real issues going on. You try to smother your excitement of finding out more and attempt at being sensitive by leaving him alone.

The flight isn't very long, you’re absorbed in rewriting the notes you took in a neater fashion. Before long, the plane has landed and you’re getting ready to get off. Davesprite dons his disguise again and you both leave the plane for the car waiting for you.

It's a quick ride to the restaurant your Aunt, the streets are still relatively clear of tourists. The eatery your escort pulls up to is small, dainty, and in a word; quaint. There are plenty of early risers sitting in booths and at tables inside; you and Davesprite are going to need to pull this off just right.

“Jesus, why are there so many people awake at this hour. I mean come on,” Davesprite whispers to you. “It's fucking nine am, shouldn't normal people asleep still? God damn Canadians(1).”

“Its fine, we'll just have to convince my Aunt to let us go back to her hotel room.”

“I'm not gonna be able to eat in this thing. Jesus dick this wasn't thought out.”

 

“...Maybe we can pass it off as a religious thing?”

“I'll still be expected to talk won't i? Your Aunt's gonna figure us out faster than i can flash step. Flash fly. Whatever.”

You shrug helplessly and open the car door. Taking a deep breath, you really hope you will be able to get your Aunt to leave.  
You wave to the driver as he leaves, then open the door for the two of you. Inside is pleasantly decorated and filled with quiet morning conversations. Your Aunt waves to you from her booth in far back, right beside a tall wall of windows. Looking back at Davesprite quickly to check if he looks like he's walking and not floating, he's passable if no one looks close enough.  
The patrons probably won't, doing that would bring attention to themselves and their possible opinions on religious wear.

Walking quickly through the restaurant, you make your way to you Aunt. She stands up and greets you with a hug.

“(YNH)! I'm so glad to see you again,” Her faint perfume tickles your nose as you hug her back. Her greying hair held back in a bun, but there are some fly away bits. Her suit is navy blue and very fashionable. You love your Aunt, even her bone crushing hugs. Especially her hugs. She leans back from the hug and kiss your cheeks. “I hope your flight was good. No turbulence i trust? I only hire the best after all.”

“No Aunty, everything was fine,” You give her a reassuring smile and she grins wider. Her gaze then shifts to your well covered companion and she releases you from her hold. “Now who's this? I thought you were bringing a boyfriend.”

“Aunty, he is a boyfr- i mean boy. And not my boyfriend. And he's in disguise, can't you tell?” You say in a hushed voice, feeling flustered.

“Oh pish, how would i be able to? You kids today,” She holds out a hand to Davesprite, speaking in a quieter voice thankfully. “Hello young man, your name is Dave correct?”

Davesprite nods, but doesn't return the handshake. Your Aunt frowns and lets her hand drop. She shoots you a look that clearly reads “Not very polite, is he?”. You jerk your head at the table, urging her to let him just sit down so you can all talk without drawing so much attention.  
Your Aunt, mature as ever, rolls her eyes at you, but sits. Davesprite and you both sit on the other side of the booth. You make sure you sit on the end to put some space between Davesprite and the rest of the restaurant. Also to keep him from flying away if her decides to abandon the whole trip.

“So,” Your Aunt clasps her hands together and puts them on the table. “Dave, why is it that your covering yourself in that stuffy veil. Last i checked, the men of that religion don't have to wear those. At least not that I’m aware of. Or are you a transgender?”

Davesprite makes a sputtering noise and you face palm. Nice Aunty, exactly what you say to someone.  
Your Aunt was never very tactful, always going straight for the point of the conversation.

“No ma'am,” Davesprite finally gets out, keeping his voice low. “I am not a transgender. I’m only wearing this because I have to.”

“Hmmm, sounds rather silly to me. I don't see a reason why you should hide yourself.”

“With all due respect, it's probably best if I did.”

“I'd like to see the face of the boy who’s going to be traveling with my niece, if you don't mind.”

“But i do mind.”

“Well tough, your going to let me know who you are or I’ll pull the plug on this,” Your Aunt is frowning angrily now and looking hard at Davesprite. Damage control time.

“Aunty calm down, and Dave, stop it. She's paying for whole trip, so calm the hell down,” You say in a whisper yell to the both of them. They stop talking, but still glare at each other. Or you think Davesprite is glaring at least. Sitting back into your seat cushions you look at both of them. “Aunty, Dave can't show you what he looks like here because of reasons. If we could go back to your hotel maybe, we'd be able to show you.”

Your Aunt purses her lips. “I suppose we could, but wouldn't you like some breakfast first?”

You look over at Davesprite and he shakes his head slowly. “No thanks, it'd be better if we get something from the hotel later.”

“Alright, I’ll call my driver around,” She pulls her cellphone from her purse and clicks a few buttons. Her driver picks up on the first ring. “Yes, hello? We'd like to leave now Michelle. Bring the car around.”

 

***********************************************************************************

 

The hotel your Aunt picked out is the tallest one she could find. She always did like views.  
In one of the top floor suites, you’re Aunt, you, and Davesprite end up sitting awkwardly in the living room.

After about a minute or so of silence, your Aunt finally asks the question.

“So...” She says, smoothing her suit out. “Are you going to show me this mysterious affliction of yours?”

You look over at Davesprite, where he's sitting beside you. He shrugs and floats up, drifting away from the sitting area for more room. The first thing to come off is the gloves he'd somehow gotten on, letting them slip to the ground; exposing his claws and orange skin. Your Aunt doesn't make any noise, but her eyes widen slightly.  
Next he removes the veil, revealing his face and ever present sunglasses. Davesprite's hair is a little mussed up from the static, making his hair fluff lightly. Then he removes the long dress, pulling it over his head and spreading his wings out. His glow seems to have been brightened a little more than usual, giving him even more of an un-earthly look.

Your Aunt makes a bit of a squeaking noise, her eyes are wide and her mouth is hanging open. She's also clutching her hands over her heart, so it might be time to calm her down.

“So... yeah. This is Dave, but his real name is Davesprite. I did warn you Aunty,” You say gently.

“Yes, you did indeed. But you didn't mention anything like this,” Your Aunt says softly. “You didn't say he was an angel.”

“Not you too,” Davesprite says, dropping the last of the clothes onto the floor. You laugh a little at the inside joke. “I'm not an angel, where do you even get that idea?”

“You have wings...”

“Birds have wings, doesn't make them angels.”

“But you’re glowing! And why the heck don't you have legs?!” You Aunt cries, finally finding volume again. She points at Davesprite's lack of legs.

“I lost my legs when i became a sprite, simple as that,” He flicks his tail to punctuate the statement. Running a taloned hand through his hair, smoothing it back down, he glides back over to the couch and sits. “So, do i need to give a run down about this or can (YNH) just elaborate?”

“I would, uh, like to hear it from you,” Your Aunt replies. “But first, I’d like to get a drink if you don't mind.”

“Not at all, take your time,” Davesprite deadpans. Your Aunt shakily nods and gets up, retrieving a cold one from the mini fridge.  
The next half hour is a game of twenty question. Your Aunt asks a question and Davesprite answers it. Where did you come from? Houston Texas. What are you? A game sprite, formerly human. And so on. Then your Aunt asks a different question.

“What are your intentions towards my niece?” She asks, finishing her drink.

Davesprite's composure doesn't twitch in the slightest, even though the question was definitely unexpected. He speaks very seriously when he answers. “No intentions ma'am. Ill or otherwise. She offered to help and i agreed. There's nothing beyond that.”

You feel hurt by that for some reason.

“Mmmm...” Your Aunt closes her eyes and cross her legs. “You seem like a perfect young gentleman, excluding the fact that you’re quite obviously not of this world-”

“Not an alien either.”

“-So I think I’ll be able to trust you with (YNH). You have my consent,” Your Aunt ignores your quiet sputter at her choice of words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for it being very short, i'm currently fighting my way through summer school and i haven't had even a moment to work on this fic, (as much as i'd like to).  
> Now if you'll excuse me, i need to go and unravel yet another analysis of a poem.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, sorry for the lack of updates; my desktop caught a virus. :/

***********************************************************************************

After snatching some muffins and apple juice from the continental breakfast, your Aunt lets you leave after giving you a bone crushing hug and a more normal one for a surprised Davesprite. A new bit of information you learned was that when Davesprite got surprised, his feathers would puff up. When you giggled quietly, he shot a glare at you; you returned that with a smile.

“Now both of you be careful,” Your Aunt told you as she walked you to the car. “Don't do anything too illegal, I can bail you out from only certain degrees of crime. Also, no funny business,” She looked over at Davesprite. “Other than that, have fun!”

“Bye Aunty!” You wave to her from the window as the car pulls out and onto the street. Relaxing into the seat, you poke Davesprite's shoulder. “Told you we could trust her.”

“Whatever,” Davesprite flicks your hand away. You waggle your eyebrows at him and he sighs. “Okay yeah, she's trustworthy. I’m just happy she didn't call animal control. Or the government.”

“I'm sure the Canadian government would be nice enough to hear your side of the story.”

“No way, I’m a former American citizen. Haven't you heard of the rivalry? We're kind of biased about each other.”

“Pfft, you’re so dramatic.”

“Pot calling the kettle black.”

Trading playful insults all the way back to the plane, a little warm feeling settles in your chest. You haven't felt as relaxed as this in a very long while, and hanging out with Davesprite feels natural. You'd missed being with friends. Maybe you’re ready to leave your self-imposed exile.

“Is there anything worth eating on this plane, or do I have to make do with fucking peanuts?” Davesprite asks from his position behind the snack counter. The plane has been in the air for about a half hour now, and he'd apparently gotten hunger. “I'm not seeing anything back here besides them. God damn.”

“They have real food in the kitchen, but getting some would mean you'd have to dress up again,” You reply, storing your thoughts for later.

“I think I’m hungry enough that I’m willing. Gimme a second.” Davesprite grabs the pile of hastily discarded clothes and throws them on. You roll your eyes and wander over to the door separating the lounge from the pilot and stewardess area.

The pretty stewardess who answers when you knock greets you with a bright smile. “Yes? What can I help you with?”

“We'd like some food please. What do you have?” She lists the meal choices off and you choose two beef steaks with a side of mashed potatoes and two cherry sodas. When the door closes again, you turn back to Davesprite. “Good choices right? Or are you a vegetarian?”

“Naw, I eat meat,” Davesprite answered, voice muffled underneath the veil.

“Good. Food'll be here in a few moments,” You settled down into your chair again and reach for your note book. “We're back on the plane, foods on its way, and we've got a moment. You know what that means right?”

“We make out?”

“What-no! Oh my god, you know what I mean,” You throw your current pencil at him, and then hastily fish another from your bag. “I want you to tell me more about yourself, continuing the conversation from last time.”

Davesprite's sigh makes the burka ripple a little in front of his mouth. “Okay, I did agree to this. So what should I expand on exactly?”

“You said you were expendable. What's the role of a sprite specifically?”

“We give cryptic advise that no one understands, I resisted though cause that's bullshit; we'll help the players out in battle against imps and other game monsters-”

“Game monsters?” You interrupt.

“Getting to that,” Davesprite says. “Anyway. We sometimes have unique abilities to help with our players. Nannasprite could heal up John when he got tired in a strife and do this weird laser-cookie making thing with one eye.” Davesprite points at one his covered eyes. “I didn't get to test out all of my extra abilities, I got... busy. Had to put on the back burner.”

“Busy with what?” You question.

“...” Davesprite doesn't answer, he just gestures a bit then redirects. “Busy. Shit went down and I had to take care of more important things. Next question.”

“Okay... can you explain what the players are?”

“The players are just that, the players of the game. Depending on the session, the number changes. There were four of them in this one, and each one of them had a sprite: me, Jadesprite, Jaspersprite, and Nannasprite. The players work as a team to beat the game, each one of them have their own quest to complete and a God Tier to reach.”

“What's a God Tier?”

The plane ride continues like this until you reach Texas, throwing questions and answers back and forth. It's a nice conversation, interesting and new. The things that Davesprite tells you about his previous worlds is amazing. The whole thing is out of the wildest sci-fi fiction novel, getting more intricate and strange as it evolves. By the end of the flight, you've filled a quarter of your once empty journal and it feels great. You feel alive and interested in something other than reading to yourself in the seclusion of your home.

It's the best you've felt in a very long time.

Exiting the plane, it begins to drizzle a bit; the clouds covering the sky makes it seem like night.

“Weird,” Davesprite whispers under his breath in the car. “It never rains here.”

“So where to miss?” The drivers voice asks through the phone line to the back seat. You look at Davesprite and he holds out his clawed hand for your journal and pen. In a messy scrawls he writes '1617 fannin st'. You repeat it to the driver and he replies a curt “Yes'm” and pulls out of the airport's parking lot.  
The ride is nice, the world flashing by greyness of the rain. You like the rain, always have; you like it a lot more now because you associate it with Davesprite's crash land into your life. Davesprite doesn't seem to be enjoying it quite as much as you are. He keeps twitching his hands around, sometimes drumming a beat on wear his knees should be. His tail is visible, stretched out on the floor of the car; it flicks back and forth once every few minutes. His nervous energy is permeating the back seat.

Leaning over you whisper quietly in his ear. “Are you okay?”

He huffs very slightly. “What are you talking about? I’m cool as Alaska.”

“Doesn't seem that way.”

“Well it is,” He says, snapping a little. You ignore the snap and instead place a light hand on his shoulder. “Whatever is bugging you, it'll be fine. And if it isn't, we'll get through.”

He nods once and turns his head towards the window. You in turn pull back into your own space, but you don't fail to notice the smallest hint of relaxation in his rhythmic tapping.

 

***********************************************************************************

“Is this the place miss?” The driver asks, parking outside a tall imposing apartment complex. Davesprite whisper a yes to you.

“Yes, this is it. We won't be long, would you mind waiting for us?”

“It's my job miss, take your time,” The driver replies cheerfully. He unlocks the doors and you step out onto the damp side walk. The rain has stopped for now, but the clouds promise more very soon. Davesprite slides out beside you, the last of his tail tucking itself inside the dress.  
He jerks his head for you to follow him, you do, and he leads you around to the back of the building. There you see a fire escape crawling all the way to the top.

You turn to ask Davesprite what to do now and you catch him shucking off his disguise.

“What are you doing?! We're in public still!” You grab one of his arms as he tries to pull the dress over his head. He brushes off your hand and pulls the dress off anyway. His wings stretch out, probably cramped from being held against his back so tightly.

“I'm losing the outfit so I can fly us up there. Unless you were planning on climbing those stairs, because if you were I gotta warn you bro,” Davesprite flicks his aviators one from where they'd been hanging on his shirt. “Those stairs are all kinds of nasty.”

“I just don't think it's a good idea to be visible okay?” You say desperately.

“If we try to go in through the doors they'll stop us, and the escape will get us caught even easier. So the only way up is if I fly us, 'kay?” Davesprite folds the last of the clothes up and tucks them in a pile beside the wall. He holds out his hand to you. “So how are we going to do this, bridal style?”

Looking up at all the floors to go, you nod to his suggestion. “If you’re sure you won't drop me...”

“Pinkie swear I won't, Strider's honor,” He holds out his pinkie to you and you take it; hooking yours around his in a childish, but sweet promise. Taking a deep breath you put your arms around his neck; you feel Davesprite gently slide his hand under your knees and lift you up, holding you in place with his left hand on your back. The lift off is scary, but amazing. Seeing the ground left behind so fast, the wind rushing over your face; it's a veritable dream like experience.  
Davesprite's wing beats are steady and strong, carrying you both off into the air. Floor by floor go by, giving you glimpses of people inside. Families eating dinner, couples cuddling on the couch. A dog barks at you as you fly past the thirtieth floor, but no one looks out. You and Davesprite are alone in the sky and it feels like no one will be able to touch you.

It only lasts a few seconds, but it's enough to make your head rush and your heart pound. One floor below the top, Davesprite sets you down on the stair well. He's smiling, but it's slowly pulling into a grimace now.

“What now?” You half whisper, breathless from the flight.

Davesprite looks up at the final apartment window, one floor up. “... Now I find something out.”

He drifts up the last curve of the stair way, moving slowly to rest his hand on the rail. He casts a quick look at you and you nod encouragingly. His wings flutter a little as he approaches the window, his tail is trailing behind him.  
Reaching out, he pulls the window open slowly. He floats there, frozen from whatever he sees inside. Slowly his face breaks, he mouth opening in a silent 'No'. Then, in a flurry of motion, he disappears into the window. Your eyes widen and you bolt up the stairs. You take the steps two at a time and run to the window. You look inside cautiously and find Davesprite in the middle of...

an empty room.

The whole apartment, empty and barren. There's nothing there. Davesprite's hands are shaking and he's digging his talons into his palms. You think there might be gold blood coming out.

“... Of course he's not here,” Davesprite says, his voice breaking. “I was stupid to even think-”

“Who's not here?” You ask, slipping into the apartment.

“My Bro. He's gone, everything’s gone. Where the hell is he?!” Davesprite yells, his breathing eratic. You don't say anything as he goes to the wall and leans against it, sliding to the floor. “He was supposed to be here. I-I needed him to be.” You want to comfort him, but the words won't come out. He pulls off his sunglasses and lets them drop onto the floor. “He's gone. Still dead and gone. God, why would I even think there was a chance he was still alive?!”

Thunder and lightning crack outside and you jump. Davesprite ignores it and starts to curl in on himself. “I got him killed. It was my fault, everything was my fault. I wasn't strong enough, even though he always taught me to be. And for all the trouble he put up with, I got him killed by a devil dog I helped create.” He looks up at the ceiling and closes his eyes. “How's that for irony?”

You hear the muted sounds of rain starting to come down outside the window, but that's outside; and right now you have a boy breaking into pieces in front of you. Finally breaking free of metaphorical chains, you shakily walk over and sit down near him. There's space between you, but your close enough he can hear your whisper of a voice.

“I understand.”

Davesprite makes a huff of breath. “No you don't. How could you possibly understand my shit?”

“You’re not the only person to ever lose someone you love,” You don't see any signs of acknowledgement, but you continue anyway. “When I was younger, I lived with my mom. My dad had walked out on her when she told him she was pregnant with me, so it was just me and her. We lived in a nice house with a big yard and I had lots of friends. It a very cookie cutter life, but I liked it. My mom was the sweetest woman you could meet. I’m glad I looked like her instead of my dad.

“But one day, she decided we should reconnect with my father. 'Cause I was his daughter right? My mom wanted me to know him, even if he didn't want to know me. When we got there, I found that he'd remarried and had two other kids who were younger than me. I turned out as well that my mom hadn't called ahead. My father was furious that we'd shown up in his life again and started yelling at us both. I got upset and ran away. I was a stupid, stupid kid. I was making for the car and my mom followed me into the street. I was almost hit by an oncoming van, but my mom pushed me out of the way,” You wipe at the tears gathering behind your eye lids and sniffle a slight bit.  
“She died on impact. There wasn't any movie like last words or a longing look in her eyes; she was just dead. Eyes blank, mouth opened; I can still see it in my mind.”

“...What happened after?” Davesprite whispers.

“Same thing for all stories like that. Hospital, funeral, adopted by relative. My Aunt is the one who took me in. I cut ties with everyone I knew in my old town, moved to the country, and threw myself into my books. I haven't left that house in a very long time. This trip is the first time I’ve left in two years. So, yeah. You aren't the only one to lose a loved one.”

“I'm sorry,” Davesprite says, picking up his aviators. “I didn't know.”

“Don't feel sorry for me. They told me there wasn't any pain.”

“Still, I wasn't thinking-”

“It doesn't matter. We both lost our parents, feeling sorry for each other wouldn't help any. So I won't feel sorry for you if you don't feel sorry for me?” You hold out your hand to him, a warm smile sliding onto your face.

“Deal,” He agrees, shaking your hand with his bird one.

You wrap yours arms around you, realizing the air around you is very cold. “So, want to go trade more stories over a hot drink?”

“Sounds good,” He floats back up and pulls you up too, you see life returning to his movements. He keeps holding onto your hand as you both approach the window. You climb out first, feeling light droplets of rain dot your face, followed by him. He shuts the window, closing off what feels like a sacred place. He hangs the aviators on his shirt again and holds his hand out to you, orange eyes glinting in the dim light of the sky. “Ready for the flight down?”

“Of course,” You reply with a grin. This time he scoops you up quickly and all but jumps off the fire escape. You shriek a little as the wind wraps around you two, twisting your hair this way and that. Your grip on Davesprite is firm and his is just as on you. His wings snap open and you soar into the sky. The water hitting your face stings in the best way and you tell the world so. “This is the best thing ever!!!”

Your cry of delight is echoed by the roll of thunder in the distance. You think, distantly in the back of your head, that maybe this isn't the best time for flying. But you’re coming down into a landing spiral now, so it doesn't matter.

You’re even more breathless than the last flight, and you stumble a little when you’re let down. “Ha, that was amazing~!”

“Glad to hear it,” Davesprite says, picking up his disguise. He mutters quietly about it being wet, but puts it on anyway. He didn't take his aviators off first, so he has a lump rising off his face now under the veil. You giggle and tell him to take them off. He replies that no, he will not be taking the off. They were a present from a friend and it's ironic to wear them.

You roll your eyes shove his shoulder. “Come on, the driver'll be worried about the storm.”

“Well shit, wouldn't want to keep the chauffeur waiting,” He says in mocking tone. He pokes your arm. “You’re such a rich girl.”

“Hey, at least I’m a nice rich girl. Who's letting you use her private jet and isn't using her government connections to make money off of you.”

“You have government connections?”

“No. But my Aunt does.”

“I swear, your Aunt's like the Betty Crocker of this world.”

“What about Betty Crocker?”

“It's a bit of an inside joke... but I think I have time to explain it.”

 

***********************************************************************************

Later that night, your both tucked under blankets on separate beds in a hotel room. The movie playing on screen is Juno. You both have bowls of popcorn in your laps and hot chocolate on the table between the beds.

“That poor Bleeker kid,” You say, popping some corn into your mouth. Hearing the dad say he was going to punch him in the balls made you squirm. You've always felt very strongly about respecting the nerds. “They always pick on the nerds. I swear, why can't people leave us nerds alone.”

“Nerds are the caterpillars of high school. They get picked off and eaten alive all the way, but afterwards they ascend to be crazy smart butterflies. Who get rich,” Davesprite flicks a kernel into the air and catches it in his mouth. “They get their dues later in live.”

“Ew, don't make us fat bugs,” You chuck a piece at him.

“Don't worry, some of them are fuzzy.”

“My mom had a friend who wore sweaters all the time. I guess she looked a bit a bit like a caterpillar,” You grin at him and whisper. “She wasn't the most attractive lady.”

Davesprite's laugh is a breathy huff. “She have any redeeming qualities?”

“I think she made really good cupcakes. Probably why she was caterpillar-ish,” You reply. Reaching over and taking a sip of your hot chocolate. “So, um, I don't mean to be pushy, but...”

“But what?”

“But I’m really curious about what you said. About the 'devil dog',” You watch him for any signs of offence. He doesn't give any except for a sigh and setting down his popcorn bowl.

“Alright, listen close cause I don't want to repeat this ever again,” Davesprite flops back onto the single bed he's to occupy tonight. “The other me, the alpha timeline me-”

“You'll need to explain that later.”

“-Well he released me from my spritely duties. After that I went to search for my Bro. He ended up in the medium with us and I wanted to find him. And I did, but not the way I wanted to,” His tail is flicking agitated off the edge of the bed now. “He was fighting with this guy, Jack Noir. Bro... Bro was going to win, and I was helping too. But then Jade prototyped her sprite with her god dog and...

“He got a power up. Like serious cliché villain power up. Jack Noir turned into a dog man and went after me. Bro saved me, got in the way at the last minute. Stopped the sword, fought back; doing the same thing always done. Kick ass. But Jack, he could do this weird teleporting thing, and he used it to make Bro stab himself. My Bro, with his own sword,” Davesprite is visibly fighting to keep his cool. You think his claws are ripping the comforter. “Then Jack went after me again. He cut off my wing and carved up my stomach. I panicked and left. I didn't see what happened to Bro afterwards. I ended up on Skaia with Jadesprite, watching the game fall apart.

“I still regret it, not staying. Not saying goodbye, not trying harder, just not being enough,” Davesprite's voice breaks and you see a small tear slip down the side of his face and into his hair. You’re silent, waiting for him. He's quiet and gravelly now. “...I don't think I’ll ever stop regretting. Doesn't make a difference what I regret or not regret though, seeing as I’m probably never getting off this version of earth. Might as well move along with life...”

“It does matter though. Not to pull the psychology card, but something like that on your conscience heavily impacts the human psyche. And aren't you a teen?”

“I'm sixteen, so yes.”

“Well something like that could break you useless and you'd end up a deadbeat on the side of a highway. Or you might become an office worker who has no life outside of work and you might work yourself into an early death!”

“One, that only happens in Japan. And two, I’m a glowing orange bird-man. I wouldn't even get to be a deadbeat. Guaranteed I’d live out the rest of my life as a government top secret experiment,” Davesprite's voice isn't as depressed sounding anymore, which you take is a good sign.

“Hey,” You say, pushing your bowl of popcorn away. “Sit up for a moment.”

“...No.”

“Yes, and please?” He turns his head towards you and you give him pleading eyes. A groan and he's sitting up. “Great, now hold still.”

Then you reach over and pull him into a hug. His sunglasses knock against your shoulder as you wrap your arms around his back, careful of his wings. His feathers are soft, tickling against your skin.  
Davesprite doesn't push you away like you expected, he is a cool guy after all, instead he brings his own arms up around your shoulders. You can feel the tips of his taloned fingers brush lightly on your shirt.

“...You’re not on your own you know. I just met you, but I want to be here for you,” You say quietly. “Grief isn't fun, that I know too well.”

“Thanks, really,” Davesprite says back. You break the hug and pull back, feeling the lingering warmth from it. Davesprite raises an eye brow at you. “Are you the hugging type by chance?”

“Just a little. Or I used to be at least. Figured this would be a good time to test it out again.”

“So... now what?”

“We finish the movie, then figure out where we're going tomorrow. I’m still in the mood for some traveling, you up for it?” You've been thinking about going places for years, but never could justify it to yourself. Now you’re out in the world and you’re not going back until you've had your fill.

“Why not. I don't really have anything else to do, so let's do it. See the world, possibly expose myself, get some life experience...”

“You'll be fine. It'll be great! Eat foreign cuisine, maybe meet some of my internet friends; we could even go swimming in the great barrier reef!”

“You want to go to Australia? You do know like a quarter of the most deadly things on earth live there, right?”

“I really want to swim with tropical fish.”

“Only if we stop in Japan,” Davesprite says, a grin creeping onto his lips. “I think I should pay tribute to my Bro by doing the most weeaboo things I can.”

“Now you’re talking!” You excitedly reply. “Continent hopping will begin in the morning!”

“Sweet. Now, how much of the plot did we miss?”

“I think something involving her not-quite-boyfriend/sire cheating on her.”

“How did it get to that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! movement in the romance plot! I feel accomplished.


	6. Part Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, thanks for being patient. School year began and things got busy, so i was kept away from my laptop. :/  
> But since today is my birthday, i wanted to share some happiness and post.  
> Enjoy!

It's always difficult to let change in, but once you have, you’re free.

***********************************************************************************

“Eeny, meanie, minnie, mo,” You say with your eyes closed, shifting your hand over pieces of paper on the floor. Each paper has a country/city written on it, and since neither you nor Davesprite were able to decide last night, you've left it up to chance.

You stop your hand and it's over the floor, but close to one of the sheets.

“Alright, I have “Italy's Capital”. What do you have?”

“Japan, Tokyo. I’m not all that surprised,” Davesprite says from his side of the room. You'd both taken three sheets each, and did them separately to narrow it down to two.

“'Kay, do you want to choose or do you want me too?”

“I'd like to if you don't mind,” Davesprite says, flying over to where your sitting and bringing his paper with him. He brushes the discarded papers away with his tail and sets down his with yours. You see the edges of his eyes as he looks intently at the two papers; they're still bright orange, mixed with a golden glow. You wish he'd leave his glasses off for more than a few seconds so you could have a solid look at them. They seem really pretty.

“So I’m thinking Tokyo even though it's on the other side of the world. That idea sound okay to you? I think I might do better there considering there's a ton of cosplayers everywhere; less likely for me to get caught. Or at least I think there is, haven't exactly been there before,” He turns his head towards you. “So you up for Japan?”

You've thought of going to Japan, thinking about the array of cultural practices there, the food, the urban fashion, the list of why to go is very long. So you grin and nod. “I think that's an awesome idea. We'll need to set that up while we're flying. I’ll call my Aunt.” You lean back and snatch your satchel off the edge of your bed and find your phone inside. Your Aunts contact is easy fine because it's the only number you ever call. The ringer only goes on for three rings before she answers.

“Hello (YNH), you both doing okay? You didn't call after your flight set down and I was a bit worried. You two didn't get into anything did you? Nothing too dangerous I hope-”

“I'm fine Aunty, we both are. I’m actually calling to ask about another trip.”

“Really? So soon? But you only just got to Houston last night didn't you?” Your Aunt's rustling movement on the other side stops. She's concerned now.

“We did what we came here to do, and now we want to leave. That's all.”

“Hmmm,” You can just here the raised eye brow. “Fine, fine, if that's what you want. Where do you want to fly to now pumpkin?”

“Tokyo, Davesprite wants to go there first. Then maybe Italy or Australia, that's my idea.”

“We're gonna get bitten by some weird-ass marsupial and die there, with enough poison to kill us ten times over. I hope you know that,” Davesprite says loudly.

“Shush, I’m on the phone,” You giggle lightly, holding your hand over the mouth piece. Davesprite crosses his arms and gives a mock pout.

“Well I’m perfectly okay with you two going where ever your hearts wish. Just give me a call every time you switch location okay? I’ll get my secretary to find you a hotel to stay right away; the plane should be ready in about an hour or so,” Your Aunt says. “I really am glad you've decided to go and see the world (YNH), you spending so much time alone in that house made so worried...”

“Well out and about now Aunty, so don't worry any more okay?” You curl your knees up to your chest. “And thanks again, for letting me do this. It's been really great.”

“Your most welcome. Have fun alright? And bring me home a souvenir!”

“I will,” You reply. You then say goodbye and hang up. Chucking the phone over your shoulder and onto the bed behind you, you grin at Davesprite. “So, you ready to go?”

The call from your Aunt's secretary comes about half an hour later, saying that the plane is ready to go and they'd sent a driver to pick you both up.  
Your ride comes ten minutes later, after you and Davesprite fussed with cleaning up the hotel room and getting his disguise on. The ride like the others is short and calm, no talking between the two of you, but not an unpleasant silence either. The plane stewardess is the same from last time and she gives a hundred watt smile as you board the air craft. The takeoff time is close to twenty minutes, which is again filled with silence between you and Davesprite.

Though you can't see his face, you think he seems very thoughtful; staring out the window. You guess it's to be expected, he'd explained more about his Bro last night; it'd been a tad emotional.

“So he seriously made you strife with him on the roof of your apartment with a real sword every day since the moment you could hold it?” You asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, he was a complete ass-hole about it too. Actin' all bad-ass throwing around “tough love”,” Davesprite flicked an un-popped kernel at the wall. “He did me good though, the skills he taught me kept me alive in the Game; it helped me save my friends too.” He scrunched his nose a little, betraying a slight sniffle. “He gave me life skills, he said it was so no one would ever get the drop on me. Bro pretty much secured me for life, too bad I wasted it and turned myself into a fucking bird.”

“What are you on about, you didn't waste it. You used the best way you could, and saved all your friends. You sacrificed everything to save them, and if that's not a worthy use of fighting ability, then nothing is. And besides,” You'd looked away, feeling a slight heat on your cheeks. “I think the bird thing is really cool.”

Davesprite's handful of popcorn had frozen above his mouth, and he'd slowly lowered it. “...Really?”

“Yeah,” You'd said, little sparks of embarrassment flying about your body. Remembering this makes you get embarrassed all over again and you smoosh your hands over your face.  
The captain's voice comes on the intercom and he says that you can both take off your seat belts, were free to move around the cabin, and to call for the stewardess if you needed anything. The flight was going to be close to twelve hours long, and that was if the plane didn't encounter turbulence or storms.

It was going to be a long flight, but it would be worth it when you got there.

“So what kind of fun things are we supposed to do while we take this hella long flight?” Davesprite asks, poking at all the bottles in the beverage counter's mini fridge. He pulls out a can of carbonated apple juice and pops the tap.

“I'm thinking we could do a movie marathon until we can't keep our eyes open. Any suggestions, cause so far i have a bunch of my favourite animated movies to re-watch.”

“Is there on-demand on the plane?”

“No, but there is Netflix.”

“Netflix...?” Davesprite turns his head towards you. “...Great. Yeah, we'll use Netflix then.”

After a moment you raise an eye brow. “Do you know what Netflix is?”

“Yes.”

“...”

“...Maybe not.” Davesprite says, crossing his arms.

You chuckle, then get up and pull out the remote for the television attached to the wall. “Here, I’ll show you how it works and you tell me why you don't know what it is.”

 

***********************************************************************************

Two movies each later, and your eyes are starting to tear up. The excessive amount of digital input today is wearing on your psyche. Time to retire to a nice seclusive book.

Getting up and stretching as the credits roll, you pick up your bag. “I'm gonna go lay down now, my eyes hurt too much for this anymore.”

“There's a place to lay down? Beds?” Davesprite asks in surprise.

“Yeah, it's close to the washroom, they're pull outs.” You cross over to the back part of the seating area and open a sliding door. Inside is a larger room with four rectangular shapes on the wall; they all have handles on them. Across from them is the washroom, which is kept shut to keep out the smell after someone uses it.

Tugging one of the rectangles, a bed folds down from the wall; legs that were secured to the bottom pop out and it's a bed. You make a sweeping gesture and say: “Ta-da!”

“Sweet, why didn't you say there was a place to crash earlier? I’m on my last legs.”

“Well not really. You haven't any legs!” You plop down on you bed and smirk a little. “Sometimes I swear your doing those sentences on purpose.”

“Me? Make bad puns about my own disabilities? Never.” Davesprite says, clutching his heart. “How could you even suggest that, I’m hurt.”

“Sure you are. Now are you going to lay down and sleep or are you going to finish your movie?”

“I think I’ll finish it, and then hit the sack.”

“Alright, good night then; and shut the door on your way out!” You call at him as he floats out, pulling the door shut with his tail. Sighing contently, you pull the sweater you'd been wearing off and fling it on the floor. Next the shoes, socks, and then you dress yourself in your night clothes after removing your under garments.  
In the washroom you brush quickly, not really putting too much effort in, before collapsing into bed. Long day of doing nothing can wear on one's mind after all.  
A quick two, three chapters and your eyes are drifting closed. Turning off the book light, you tuck your book down beside your bags/clothing pile. The feeling of the plane moving is soothing and you let yourself be taken by slumber.

***********************************************************************************

The click of the door opening rouses you from sleep a little while later. A faint orange glow shines on the wall in front of you. Turning over, you see Davesprite coming inside.  
His glow, which isn't as vibrant as usual, casts the opposite of a shadow as he heads to the washroom. The door opens, the taps runs, he washes his face then turns it off. The only sound you can hear is his wings rustling quietly as he drifts to his bed.  
Grunting as he pulls it out and the fluffing of pillows. Davesprite gets into bed and his glow dims even more.

“Sleepy?” You whisper to him.

“Murr,” Is the answer.

“Me too. Have a good sleep.”

“Murr.”

***********************************************************************************

Knocking on the door to the bunks wakes you up again and you raise your head sleepily.

“Miss? Hello?” The stewardess says through the door.

“I'm up,” You say, twisting onto your stomach and raising your head towards the door.

“Oh, good. We'll be arriving in Tokyo Airport in a half hour. We thought you might want a heads up.”

“Yes, thanks,” You smoosh your head back into the pillow and you hear her footsteps retreating. Grumbling, you swing your feet off the bed and melt onto the floor. The feeling of sleep and the need to have more follows you to the washroom. Flicking on the light, you give your face a good rinsing and brush your out. Tugging at the knots that formed while you slept.

As you exit the washroom, you notice Davesprite's glow is picking up again. His orange irises peer at you from under the covers, the light in them brighter than the glow of his body.  
Paired with his wings, clawed hands, and lack of legs, he is in every sense an unearthly creature. You consider yourself very lucky that he fell on your lawn and not someone else's.  
The adventure, thus far, has been something greater than you could have imagined for yourself. And now you’re traveling to Japan, a place that has some of the interesting cultures on earth, with someone who is strange and new and just what needed to help you.

It feels nice to move on, sad, but better.

Davesprite's muffled “Why are you awake, and more importantly why am I?” bring you back into the moment.

“We're touching down in a little while. We're supposed to get ready to land and be in our seats,” You reply, leaning against the bathroom door.

“Ugh,” Is his response to your reply.

“Come on, I need you to leave so I can get dressed,” You say with a roll of your eyes.

“I won't look.”

“Mmm hmm. Just get out, you have to put on your clothes anyway.”

“...Fine,” He mutters finally. He glows a bit brighter, grabs his glasses from beside his pillow, and starts floating off the bed, dragging the blankets with him. He slithers through the air and disappears out the door to the seating area. Rolling your eyes again, you dress quickly and head out to join him.

Davesprite is already in the majority of his Burka, but is fussing with his hair.

“What're you doing?”

“Making myself pretty, what do you think?”

“Your preening, I hope you realize that.”

“Am not.”

“Your such a bird, you don't even notice your birdness,” You pick up the veil and toss it at him. “Hurry up, they're going to come in any minute now.”

Shortly after you and him are seated, you press the button to summon the stewardess and ask about breakfast.

“We can have something ready for you when we touch down, if you don't mind waiting.”

“That's fine, how about you?” You ask Davesprite. He nods. The stewardess leaves after a quick talk about what you want to be in the car coming to pick you up.  
The turbulence during landing makes your books fall off the table beside you, but you catch them before they hit the carpet. Davesprite smirks a grin and says what's clearly an inside joke.

“Sweet catch.”

There is a very nice sleek, black car waiting for both of you when you leave the plane. The young male driver bows to you in greeting and picking up on the hint, you and Davesprite also bow.

“Welcome to Japan, my name is Hiroshi-San. I’ll be your driver this morning,” He says in a only slightly accented voice. He then opens the door to the back of the car and lets you both in. You make sure Davesprite gets in fast enough that Hiroshi-San doesn't notice that he didn't use legs to climb inside.  
If he did, Hiroshi-San doesn't say anything as he closes the door. He quickly maneuvers back to the front of the car and you do a double take as he gets in on the right side of the car.

“Chill, they have the cars reversed here,” Davesprite whispers under his breath. You nod and recover from you shock. You hadn't known that before. Or you might have, but forgot it.

You notice there is an envelope on the table in the center of the spacious back seat. It has both of your names on it. You snatch it up and open it and Hiroshi-San starts the engine. Inside is a short note from your Aunt telling you your accommodations. You've been booked in the Akasaka Tokyu Hotel for one of the top floor suites; an apparently very posh hotel right near everything interesting in Tokyo. Your Aunt finishes the letter with a happy face with a big smile and a scribbled “I love you lots and want to be there too but can't, so have fun enough for me too!!!”

Davesprite looks at the letter over your shoulder. “Wow, your Aunt's a pretty neat lady. I don't know many adults who sign things in glitter pen. Or draw happy faces.”

“She's one of a kind alright,” You say, a happy fuzzy feeling building in your chest. Your Aunt truly is the best guardian you could ever ask for.

The ride to the hotel is marvelous. The blend of modern life and historical life is an amazing scene to behold in Tokyo. Even with the obviously futuristic look of everything, there are still slices and patches of the past between the sky scrapers and malls.  
Shrines, aging houses, beautiful old shops all pop up on the way as the car gets closer to the hotel. The snacks provided for you two are delicious and somehow still warm. An egg omelet for both of you with two seeded bagels and two cups of green tea.  
Delectable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed, i even took out a Tokyo guide to write this!


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI-LOOK-IT'S-A-CHAPTER-EXPLANATIONS-AT-THE-END-BYE

The hotel certainly looks grand when you arrive. The height of it is impressive, about fourteen stories tall. The square black windows of the building glint in the light of the rising sun, and there seems to be two at least for every room. Hiroshi pulls off of the street and to the curb in front of the plaza. After a quick moment of waiting for passing cars to cease, he gets out and opens the door for you and Davesprite.

“I hope the ride was enjoyable Miss,” He says as he shuts the door behind you two. Straightening his cap, he smiles at you both. “My employer has arranged for a tour guide to meet you both here at six o’clock. She said that you two should go and see the city night life.”

“Thank you again Hiroshi-san, your driving was excellent,” You say gratefully. There were little more than three bumps on the whole way, so ten out of ten for Hiroshi.

“Well then, I need to be going now so sayonara Miss (YLNH),” Hiroshi bows once, which you and Davesprite return, and then he gets back into his car and drives away; back into the busy city of Tokyo.

“Well I for one am offended,” Davesprite says suddenly. When you give him a questioning eyebrow, he shrugs. “He didn’t talk directly to me once the whole time we were with him.”

You giggle a little. “I’m pretty sure that was because he’s unfamiliar with Muslims. The whole not being able to see your face thing probably freaked him out a little. But hey, at least he was polite about it. Also, you not talking to him didn’t help either.”

“It isn’t my fault I have a smooth radio host voice that doesn’t match my feminine looks,” Davesprite says with a toss of his head; mimicking hair flicking, just minus the hair.

You laugh and roll your eyes. “Your right, it is unfair to you. You would be so close to being Miss America, but would open your mouth and cause everyone to faint at the sound of your smooth man voice.”

“Alas, it is my fate,” Davesprite says sarcastically as you both head into the hotel. The lobby is quiet and has only the desk help present. You greet them with a smile and approach.

“Hello, can I help you with anything?” A young woman asks when you’ve reached the desk.

“Yes, um, hi. We have a room reserved for us by my Aunt,” You say, clasping your hands together. The young woman nods and asks for your ID. Handing it over, she confirms it with the computerized check in system.

She nods and hands it back to you, along with the key card to your room. “Everything is in order Miss (YLNH), your room is on the fourteenth floor, number four hundred and thirty-two. The elevator is right that way,” The points towards a corner on your left “And your entire luggage is already in your room. Please enjoy your stay.” She sends you off with a wave and pleasant smile. You wave back as you and Davesprite round the corner to the elevator.

“She seemed nice,” You say as you summon the elevator. Davesprite just hums a reply. Once the elevator opens, you step in and press the fourteenth floor button.  
You hit the fifth floor as Davesprite speaks suddenly.

“Do you really think it’s a good idea for me to go out tonight?”

“What?” You turn your head towards him. He lifts his hands out from under the veil and stretches his clawed fingers out so the bones pop. “You know what I mean. Is it seriously a great idea to have someone that looks like me wandering around the streets of the city? You remember the conversation we a had a little while back, the one about me ending up in a top secret, government testing center? Going out and about is me asking to get locked up.”

“I thought you wanted to see Tokyo, that’s what we came here to do.”

“I know, but Jesus; I’m kind of having second thoughts now,” Davesprite clenches his fists. “I can’t help it, I’m… I’m…”

“Scared?”

“No. Just… wary. I don’t want to end up in a shit hole because I got careless.”

“Hmmm, that is a valid concern. But remember, this country is where cosplaying began wasn’t it? Doesn’t that mean you’ll just be mistaken for a dressed up teenager?” Davesprite doesn’t answer. Before you can begin again, the elevator door opens and he flies out; not bothering to cover up the fact that he has no legs. “C’mon, let’s find our room. I want to get out this dress.”

“Oh, okay,” You follow him as he sets a brisk pace to the room. The numbers flash by on other doors, until Davesprite stops in front one. Number four hundred and thirty-two is nailed into the door, the gold paint shining in the hallway lights. You slide the key card through the scanner and wait for it to turn green; then you open the door and slip inside and away from the possibility of prying eyes.

“Wow…” You say as you come into the room. There are two beds, both raised high off the ground and looking very comfortable. On the table between two large dressers, there is a flat screen television; and beside it is a basket of sweets, complementary of the hotel.  
The floor feels soft through your socks as you chuck off your shoes, you enjoy the feeling of the carpet against your thin socks. As you pass the bathroom, you see that there are plenty of towels and small soaps for you to use. The entirety of the room is based on the colors of brown, white, and green. Blending together, the room is easy on the eyes.

Spotting your suitcase beside your bed, propped up and the handle retracted, you walk over and open it to check if your things are still there. Everything is as you left it, neatly packed and untouched.  
You hear a flopping sound and you turn your head towards it. Davesprite has already shucked his disguise onto the floor and is now lying on his bed face down.

You chuckle a little to yourself. “Comfortable?”

“Mfff furrfi fur,” He replies. Zipping your suitcase closed, you decide to follow his advice and flop yourself onto your own respective bed. The comforter on top is soft and poofy, and immediately begins to warm up as your body’s heat is reflected back at you. There’s a five minute pause as the two of you take a moment to enjoy the beds.  
You think you may have been ruined for beds for the rest of your life, Japan’s hotel beds officially beat everyone’s.

Looking over at Davesprite, you wonder for a moment if he can breathe with his face smooshed into the blankets. You apparently said this out loud too, because he responded after lifting his head up from the bed. “I can breathe, but I’m not actually sure if I need to or not.”

“Really? Do you think sprites can live without breathing?” You turn onto your side so you face Davesprite.

“Maybe, never tried it. But I don’t generally experience shortness of breath or anything like that, no matter what I’m doing. If I was less inclined to try and preserve my life, I might try staying under water until I couldn’t anymore; but heck no to suicides. I don’t hate my life that much.”

“Hmmm, well good. Because I don’t want you to go anywhere,” You say quietly. You hadn’t thought about whether or not Davesprite enjoyed being himself. You suppose it might be hard at least in your world, but wouldn't it have been better back in the game where it was relatively normal to be something different from human?  
Perhaps not.

 

***********************************************************************************

For the next few hours, you both whittled it away individually. Davesprite flipped through the channels, not really watching any of the hundreds of them, and you took the time to write out everything you’d learned from him in detail.  
About two hours into your relaxing time of writing, you finished up and set the book down onto your bed side table. You didn't have any more information to add to it at the moment, so you stretched over the edge of your bed and rummaged in your suitcase until you found your lap top. Firing it up, you clicked to the internet availability and connected. You still had time before your tour, so killing it with the internet was the best idea. You hadn't been on tumblr for days now, and your dash was probably clogged up.

You open your ask box first, taking a quick look at the messages you've gotten. The standard compliments about your fanfiction writing/asking for more of a specific fic are always nice to come back to; and you make sure to reply to every one of them. There are a few anonymous hate messages, but you just ignore them and reply with a sarcastic gif. The first time you’d gotten hate actually, you’d been really happy because that meant you were popular enough to have attracted critics.

A post comes up that surprises you. “Mysterious orange light spotted”, it's a newspaper article from the city near your home. Apparently it's started a big debate about whether it's alien or government based.

“Hey Davesprite, look at this,” You turned the screen towards him. He leans over to get a better look at the print.

“Huh, I guess I should have expected someone to have noticed,” He says after finishing the article. “I'm not exactly a subtly colored sprite.”

“Pretty nifty you’re on the internet, and so famous too! This post already has over five thousand shares,” You point at the numbers on the corner of the white square. “I'll reblog it too, not every day i can brag, secretly of course, about having come into contact with an extraterrestrial.”

“I'm not an alien.”

“You’re not from this world either, so that's the best way to describe you.”

“I object, i can be described as an inter dimensional traveler.”

“True, but it's too wordy so alien it is,” Davesprite adjusts his shades and turns his head back towards to the screen; you suppose he refuses to acknowledge your label for him. He's free to do that, most teenagers are already doing things similar.

“You know actual aliens are a lot more assholey than me,” He suddenly says. “They're grey, and nubby, and really loud.”

“You've met aliens? Get out!” You say enthusiastically.

“Well, i haven't actually met them face to face, but I’ve talked to them through Pesterchum. A few of them were pretty lame, but one or two were fun to mess with. There was this one guy, Karkat I think, he shouted literally every sentence. And if you let him, he'd lecture your ears off with walls of grey text; all the while insulting your gall to be born.”

“Wow, he does sound like an asshole.”

“Eh, i never really got to know him. I was busy saving a timeline, not a minute to spare despite being a time player,” Davesprite chuckles a little. “I guess that's pretty ironic.”

“You've mention that a few times before, what specifically are God Tier powers? They change with every player don't they?” You pull up a word document as Davesprite begins to explain, you'd been meaning to ask more about the subject.

“God Tiers are tricky to explain. Not only does the aspect change each time, it also changes the class does too. There's rarely a repeat of a God Tier, they're all different too. Like a Knight of Time, which is what I was, weaponizes time. Fights with it, and uses it to protect I think. Plus, when a Knight pledges themselves to an Heir, they become twice as powerful.

“I, this me, never reached that point of power. I got cut off from maximum potential by a really cruel twist of fate. A psycho blind girl lead my best friend into a trap and got him killed, which eventually lead to our Space player being killed too. At which point, I had to go back and fix everything by prototyping myself and preventing the timeline from ever happening,” Davesprite leans back into the many pillows on his bed. “Some God Tiers are more powerful than others too, like the combination of a Life player being a Prince, they'd destroy any life they touched; which is what a Prince does. They destroy their aspect.”

“Sounds complex. How do you know all of this anyways? This is a lot to remember.”

“It came with being a game sprite, got coded into my head the moment I prototyped. It is helpful, or it was, I knew every route the game could take and which one was the best. Places the best grist was dropped, which monsters were the easiest to fight, etc. It wasn't the most pleasant experience having game constructs yelling in my head about how I was supposed to be acting, but that was ignorable,” Davesprite flicks to a new channel. “I tried my best, but it ended up not being enough. We still had to scratch the Game and head to the new session despite my efforts. Woe is me, the sprite that couldn't.”

You tilt your head and sigh. “You just said you tried your best, the failed game wasn't your fault.”

Davesprite doesn't respond and you both return to your individual activities.

 

***********************************************************************************

Evening comes sooner than later, after hours that stretched an eternity, but turned into mere minutes at the end. There is a polite knock on the door which sends Davesprite flying into the washroom and locking the door. You remember him leaving his disguise in there at some point so you don't worry about having to get him in a moment.  
Opening the door, you are met with a smiling face of a young woman.

“Good evening Miss, my name is Akari Shindo. I'll be your guide tonight to Tokyo's hottest attractions!” She says with a slight bow and a great big smile. She's dressed business like, but laid back somehow. Compliments of red and white all over her outfit make her stand out against the hallway walls.

“We're almost ready, could you wait a moment? My companion is still touching up,” You say, hearing movement from the bathroom. Akari nods and smiles again. “I'll be waiting down in the lobby, if you could be down in the next ten minutes we'll still be on schedule.”

“Alright, we'll be right there,” You say and she nods. You shut the door after she begins walking away. You sigh and lean against the door. “So are you going to come out and see the city, or are you going to hide in here all night?” You mutter under your breath.

“I’m coming,” Davesprite says crabbily, throwing the bathroom door open suddenly.

You jump. “You heard that?”

“Yes. You don’t mutter very well,” He taps his ears. “It also helps that being part bird has made my hearing a lot better. Can’t smell too good anymore though…”

“Oh yeah, I think I read something about that a long time ago. Something about it not mattering to mama birds if you touch their kids?” You say mostly to the air as you both get ready to leave. You pick out your preferred satchel and fill it with necessary items. Your wallet, a few books, a translation hand-book, your I-phone, etc.

“All ready to go?” You ask Davesprite.

“Yeah. All I had to do after all was put on this stupid veil again. Not much else to get ready,” Davesprite gestures at the other side of the room. Which, now that you look at it, is empty of anything.  
Whoops, you hadn't noticed.

“Oh… um, sorry. I didn't really think about that. Erm,” You play with the ends of your hair, you can’t believe you neglected to get him anything besides food and a space to sleep! “We could- I could make up for that today, or rather tonight maybe? I mean, I have plenty of allowance; so we should probably get you some clothes and I guess and other stuff...”

“That'd be really nice, 'bout time you remembered. I may not have a large amount of needs, but i do like to be spoiled, you know?” Davesprite says, probably only half sarcastic.

“Okay, what would you want to buy then? We're probably going to stop at some stores at some point, we could get some things there,” You say as you pull the door open again. Once Davesprite is out in the hallway, you check in your bag to make sure you grabbed the key card, then shut the door.  
Akari is waiting in the lobby, just like she said. When she spots you both, she stands up from the couch and walks over briskly. “It'd be advised that we leave in the next three minutes, you have seats at a performance that is taking place very, very soon. It'll take a while to drive there, so we are cutting it close.”

“We understand, sorry for the wait Akari. We had a bit of trouble with her veil,” You gesture at Davesprite.

“Ah, yes, it's alright. We still have time to get to the theater,” Akari smiles and starts walking to the exit. “If you could just follow me, I’ll take you to our car.”

The car waiting is a sleek white limo, not the stretch kind though. Small, but nicely sized. Akari gets into the front while the two of you get into the back.  
The interior is plush, and the seats are very comfortable. You pull the seat belt over yourself and buckle yourself in.

“What about me?” Davesprite says very, very quietly. You look up and realize that up till now you've both been in cars where people couldn't see Davesprite when he buckled himself in. During those few seconds, his hand are exposed. Because he’d left his gloves back at your Aunt’s hotel, he’d had to keep his hands hidden at all times.

Shit.

“Don’t bother then,” You whisper back. “Just, hope that there’s a moment soon to do it when they aren't looking.” You flick your eyes to Akari and the driver, a man in his mid-thirties or so. The driver wouldn't be looking back too often, so there’s only Akari to worry about.  
She’ll be distracted at some point, so until then…

“Just hold on, okay?” You whisper again.

“Fine,” Davesprite mutters back. “But if I end up flying out the window, I blame you.”

“Enough with the bird puns, and stop talking!”

“That wasn't a pun!

“Are you both ready to go?” Akari says suddenly, turning around in her seat. You both nod quickly with an affirmative “mmhmm!” from you.  
Akari flashes a quick smile, then speaks quickly in Japanese to the driver and the car smoothly begins moving across the entrance area and onto the roads that will take you to your first experience in Tokyo.  
Even though there is a huge risk hanging over both yours and Davesprite’s heads, you can’t help but feel so excited. A big city, full of people and things to see! Maybe you’ll even find some neat items to buy. And some for Davesprite too, you owe him that for forgetting before he reminded you.

You need to apologize more sincerely later on when you get back to the hotel room.

“So what performance are you taking us to exactly?” You politely ask. “I know that there’s an array of preforming arts here, but I was wondering which specifically.”

“Your Aunt advised us to take you to something musical, so I’ve arranged for box seating at the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra’s show tonight.”

You perk up especially at that. Music, especially symphony, is one of your favorite things. Each song has a proper moment: be it a book, a movie, or a moment in time. Placing the right background music while you read is important to you, it adds to the scene in your head.

“That sounds awesome, thanks so much!” You say enthusiastically.

“No problem, your aunt gives good advice,” Akari replys sweetly. You sit back into your very comfortable seat and look at the world as it flashes by. This evening is going to be great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi patient readers, i am five kinds of sheepish and nine kinds of apologetic. I've had this chapter ready to go for three days, but it kept slipping my mind.  
> I'm not sure if i ever mentioned it, but i'm the worst/most erratic author you'll ever meet. I try, i really do.  
> Sorry!


	8. Part Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy hells, there are fifty of you now! 0 0  
> Well then, i think i'll need to step up on my abilities to write!

What seems sweet, can sometimes be truly rotten on the inside.

***********************************************************************************

The show was incredible, the size of the orchestra astounded you. You'd watched recordings of performances, but hadn't seen one of this size before. The sound, the music, it flooded your senses as you breathed in and out with the tune.

You and Davesprite had been in there for about an hour and a half, when the conductor bowed and said that it time for an intermission. The lights came up and you and Davesprite exited the doors to your private showing booth; located about thirty feet diagonal from the stage. Akari didn't sit with you and Davesprite, she'd said something about wanting to sit with a friend in the audience. You don't really mind, but you think privately that she should have stayed with the two of you. She's your guide and caretaker at the moment right?  
As you both entered the hallway and head for the concessions bar, you sidle up to Davesprite and quietly talk to him. “So what do you think? If you’re not enjoying this we could leave and go somewhere else.”

“No, i like it. I've never been to the symphony before, this is pretty cool,” Davesprite says just as quiet as you. “Thanks for bringing me. Though I think I’d prefer something more... modern.”

“What, is that your preference? Pop-junky mainstream things?”

“Mmm, not quite. I like remixes, jazzed up and improved versions of the crap people make. I used to dabble in remixing myself actually,” He says under his breath as you get in line. “I think i'm pretty good, despite not practicing for i think about two years.”

“Why'd you stop? And what do you want?” You ask as you reach the till.

“I lost interest, and I want apple juice an' one of those huge cookies in the back.”

“A sprite, an apple juice, and two chocolate cookies please,” You say politely to the lady at the till. She nods and relays the order to the other worker, a guy with long hair in a pony-tail, in Japanese. He quickly grabs your two drinks from the fridge and two cookies, neatly wraps them up, and deposits them on the counter. You hand your debit card to the lady at the till and she slides it through. The till chimes and she hands your card back. You smile at her and say thanks as you grab your snacks.

“Okay, you said you enjoyed mixing music, but then got bored. Is that it?” You ask as Davesprite opens the door to your seating area after a quick look around to make sure no one would see.

“Yep, that's it. Nothing more to it,” He says as you both slip in.

Inside, you coat and purse are still on your seat, which is a very large and comfortable red theater chair. There are six seats in all, but you and Davesprite have moved them so there are only two near the window. You set out your drinks on the table beside the couch in the back of the room and hand the cookies to Davesprite.

Before you sit down you flick two switches on the wall; one closes the curtain, the other turns on the lights.  
You let out a content sigh and sit down on the couch on the opposite end of Davesprite. He hands you your cookie and your hand him his drink. For a moment, there isn't anything but chewing and sips to be heard in the small red room. You keep looking at Davesprite out of the corner of your eyes, but you can't get a read on him because he's only lifting the edge of his veil to take a bit or a sip of juice.

You silently curse your past self for coming up with this disguise, even though you know it was the only choice to really take.

“So... what kind of remixes did you make?” You ask tentatively when your cookie is gone.

“...All kinds i guess. My usual choices were popular songs on the radio, or sometimes the shittiest songs i could find in the bowls of the internet,” Davesprite takes another swig of apple juice and swallows before continuing. “My Bro did it too, but professionally. He was a DJ at local clubs in Houston when he wasn't busy with his main job; which was successively all by itself so i don't know why he'd go out and work clubs that didn't know music from farm sounds.”

“What was your Bro's main job then?”

“...You probably shouldn't know,” Davesprite says with a cough.

You move closer to him. “But I want to know.”

“Trust me, you don't,” He says as he leans away from you.

“But I do.”

“No you don't.”

“Yes I do!”

“No you don't!”

“Just tell me, I’m really curious!” Your about three inches from him now. “Tell me, please?”

Davesprite pulls the veil off his face and scowls at you. You could swear you see a hint of orange blush on his cheeks as he concedes. “Fine! But I warned you.”

He leans in and whispers (murmurs) the answer into your ear. After you pull away, you tell yourself that the blush on your own cheeks are from the information you've just learned.  
Yup, definitely just that. Not because of the feeling of his breath on your ear.

“So yeah,” Davesprite says, focusing on his bottle of AJ. “That was his job.”

“Mmm hmm,” You mumble back. The quieting of the rest of the audience signals the beginning of the show again and you welcome the distraction from your own turmoil of embarrassment and new feelings.  
You say something to Davesprite and you both take you seats again, ready to never discuss the topic of his brother's job and just enjoy the moment.  
And to possibly ignore the annoying heat in your stomach.

***********************************************************************************

The end of the show is spectacular, drums thrumming in your chest and symbols crashing loudly between your ears.  
You love music.

When the maestro bows, you stand and clap loudly with the rest of the audience. You notice that Davesprite claps twice quietly beneath his long veil/sleeves.  
You stretch your arms and grab your bag. “C'mon, Akari should be waiting downstairs at the entrance. I think she said we'd be going to a shopping district next.”

“Sweet, new gizmos,” Davesprite replies smoothly, floating upwards into what would be a standing position if he had legs. His tail slips out a little as he floats to the door and holds it open for you. “M'lady.”

“Such a gentleman,” You say as you waltz out the door. “This wouldn't have anything to do with me holding all the money we're going to spend would it?”

“Me, being polite only so I can rob you blind? Never!” He snarks back at you in a whisper as you make your way through the crowds towards the entrance/exit. “But seriously, you’re going to buy some new gear for me right?”

“Of course. Doesn't matter if you open doors for me or not, I’m going to purchase some nice new clothes and toys for you; my intrepid house guest,” You say to him as you approach Akari.

Akari is bowing to some guy, but shoos him away as she spots you coming over. Akari greets you both with a wide smile. “I hope you both enjoyed the show, (YNH), Aala.”

You can practically hear the raised eyebrow coming from Davesprite, but you smile enough for the both of you anyways. “Yup! It was fantastic, thanks so much for bringing us here.”

“It's my job to make sure you have an excellent tour. Now, like I said before, we are going to visit one of Tokyo's most popular shopping areas, Ginza! There are many different shops for you two to visit there, so I think you'll enjoy it,” Akari smiles some more and she begins walking to the door. “Let us leave now, so we can catch them before they close.”

“Aala?” Davesprite whispers to you, following you out into the warm evening air.

“I think my Aunt chose that to give you cover. You couldn’t stay nameless forever.”

“Aala though.”

“It's a nice name.”

“It's a girl's name obviously.”

“And what's wrong with that?”

“I'm not a girl.”

“You’re pretending to be one right now though,” You say breezily, winning the conversation. You can't hear it, but you get the feeling he's grumbling inside his mind.  
You have a new driver this time, but that doesn’t really register. He greets you in Japanese and then gets right to his job; Akari giving him instructions also in Japanese. Soon your moving quickly through the streets and steadily getting closer to the brightness of the down town area.

***********************************************************************************

Ginza is huge, bright, and heavily populated.  
Young and old alike are milling about the many shops that line the streets designated as Ginza. And since today is Saturday, the roads are closed off to give the pedestrians more freedom; you can wander freely without needing to worry about cars hitting you as you run back as forth between shops.

You can’t wait to get out of the car.

“Alright, we’ll let you both off here, but we’ll need to meet up again in about two hours or so,” Akari says, looking at you in the mirror.

“That’s fine,” You reply. “Where should we meet?”

“Here’s an address, we’ll be waiting there for you both,” Akari hands you a slip of paper with street numbers and shop name. “It’s on the edge of the shopping district, so you can get directly into the car.”

“Sounds good to me, see you in two hours!” You finally give in to your excitement and open the car door. Waiting for Davesprite to slip out as well is almost painful. There’s so much to see here and so little time! So encourage him with muttering: “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon!”

“I’m hurrying as fast as I can,” Davesprite whispers back in annoyance.

“Not fast enough!” You say, voice rising. The moment he’s clear of the door, you slam it shut and start walking towards the closest store. “This way, you want some shiny, new things right?”

An almost inaudible sigh comes from Davesprite as he follows you to the shop.  
Inside is brightly lit and full of bustling teens, as the store you’ve chosen is a mix between a clothing store and an electronic one.

You point at a section of the store. “I’m going to go look at clothes over there, what’re you going to do?”

“I’m going to check out what I-pods and head phones they have.”

“Oh, if you’re looking stuff like that we could visit a store that specializes in them afterwards,” You tug on his sleeve. “C’mon, let’s get you some new shirts. I don’t care if your current one somehow magically becomes clean again and again, you need more than one.”

“…I have been wearing it for three years now,” Davesprite agrees and follows you into the clothes aisles.

“Three years and you never thought to change? Gross.”

“I didn’t need to. Like you said, my sprite powers restore it every few hours.”

“Still though. You didn’t change what you were wearing for three years. That’s kind of insane,” You say to him as you rummage through the piles of shirts and pants. You pull out a relatively plain black one. It says “COFFEE” in wide white letterings; (you remember distantly reading something on Tumblr about how western countries put Kanji on their shirts and Eastern countries put English words on theirs). “How about this?”

“I like it,” Davesprite says. “Perfect for me, ironic in just the right way.”

“Sure it is,” You roll your eyes. You still don’t get his thing with irony, but whatever. To each their own after all. In the end you both choose the shirts you like the best. You pick three, Davesprite gets five, and you grab a bottle of florescent nail polish to add on.

“Why are you getting that, it’s an awful color,” Davesprite asks when your examining the label of the bright yellow nail polish.

“I think it’ll be good for a costume or something. Halloween is only three months off now,” You reply, tucking it into the pile of clothes in your arms. “I was thinking I might be this neon colored alien this year. My Aunt holds a big Halloween bash every year for her company, everyone’s eligible to attend so long as they listen to the rules and work for her. She always asks if I want her costume designer to do mine, but I like making them myself.”

Davesprite shrugs. “Neat idea. I won’t be needing a costume myself though. Do you think you could get a hold of a wheelchair for me? Then I’d be able to just sit and relax without hiding.”

“That’s a good idea actually. I’m sure we can get one by then,” You reply, sliding your debit card across the counter to the polite sales man. When you’d first come to the till there’d been a teenager running it, but he’d panicked when he realised neither of you could speak Japanese and had gone to get the manager. You say goodbye politely and thank him for running through your things.

Exiting the store, you glance at you phone’s clock. It’s been almost a full hour, you still have about forty-five minutes before the two of you should get going. You tuck it back into you coat pocket. “To the electronic store, where ever that may be?”

“Let’s,” Davesprite replies, and you both saunter/float off into the crowds to find an electronics store.

 

***********************************************************************************

Three shops later, your arms are full and your time is almost up.  
You’d found the electronic store almost right away, and then proceeded to spend at least four hundred dollars on head phones, I-pods, and a brand new computer for Davesprite.  
You also bought him a cell phone and added your number and your Aunt’s right away after setting it up in the store.

The next two shops were miscellaneous purchases. You found a book store that had translated manga, which was great because everything was at least two books ahead of back home. Davesprite, in a fit of what you think was his birdness speaking, asked to buy some particularly shiny necklaces; you doubt he’ll ever wear them, but having them in his possession seemed to make him happy.  
He also bought a very gaudy anime flag that had Sailor Moon characters portrayed on it. You asked why, and he said he thought he might find a cell phone tower somewhere and hang it on there. For the sake of irony.  
You added it to your purchases even though you thought it was silly idea.

At the end of two hours, you feel properly shopped out, and have plenty of new things to monkey around with. You’re approaching the meeting spot when Davesprite taps your arm with his claws.

“Hey, embarrassing question, but could I duck out for a moment to use a bathroom?” He asks.

“Sure? I’ll keep the bags. Our ride should be here any moment so hurry back…” You finish replying to his retreating figure. All of the bags now sit at your feet, so you sigh and pick them up and heave them over to the corner.  
You tap your foot, waiting for either Davesprite to show up again or for your ride. You mull over his excuse to wander away, thinking back you realize that he’s never asked to use the washroom before. If he doesn’t need to actually go, on the account of Sprite magyks again, what was he doing right now?

The sound of a car approaching jolts you from your thoughts. The car you had been riding around in that evening rolls up in front of you and the window slides down. Akari is in the front seat and she beams at you. “Get in, we have a surprise to show you.”

“Could you help me with my bags first? There’s a lot of them,” You ask as you start gathering the bag handles in your hands.

“We’ll get those for you, just hurry and get in,” Akari says again, her smile seeming a little strained. This sets off some alarms in your brain, which only get louder when you open the back door to find there’s a strange man in the back seat.  
Your eyes widen and you back pedal, Akari shouts something in Japanese at the stranger and he grabs your arm. You struggle, but his grip is too firm. He tugs you roughly and your knees knock against the car, making you lose your balance. You shout in pain and fear as he tugs you all the way inside. The door slams behind you and something sweet smelling is pushed onto your face.

You briefly think ‘chloroform’ as your vision gets very blurry, very quickly. You see Davesprite, finally coming back from the washroom, from out the back window just before you black out.  
Whatever is happening to you right now, you’re just glad that Davesprite wasn’t grabbed too. Otherwise worse things could have happened to him than just being kidnapped. He’s safe though and you’re not, evident as your eyes close unwillingly as you’re held trapped by a stranger who means you no good will.

Your mind gives way, and your swept into dreams of brutal touching’s and images of Davesprite alone on the streets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't expect this to go this direction, really. It just happened!


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry for the cliff hanger. Welcome back, and enjoy.

Your waking isn’t pleasant in the least.

As your eyes open suddenly thanks to the crash of something in the back ground, you realize everything is still dark. You then realize also that you have a blind fold on your face.  
You then proceed to panic.

You can’t move your hands, rope securely tying you to a plastic chair. Your feet are free, but there isn’t much good they can do with your eyes covered. You begin hyper ventilating, you don’t know where you are or why this is happening. Your head hurts and you can feel rope scrape around your wrists.  
You tear up a little, you’re a scared little girl all alone and you have no idea about what to do.

You start by biting your lip and pushing the swell of fear and tears back into yourself. You can’t be the weepy kidnapped girl in this situation; that could get you killed or worse. You’re breathing eases out and you regain composure.  
Be brave, be smart, be the hero of your own story.

Someone is speaking now. They say your last name, so you assume they know you’re awake. You hear footsteps coming up to you and then there is light again. The blind fold has been taken off your face you blink in the sudden glare of fluorescent lights.

“Wake up,” A heavily accented man says to you, he holds your blind fold in his hand. A second glance at his face and you realize it is the man who drugged you in the first place. Joy.

You remain silent as he grabs the back of your chair, which has wheels, and pushes you to a table in the middle of the room. You glance around, taking it in. There are four others in the room, three men and a woman. A woman by the name of Akari.

“Akari, what going on?” You ask tentatively. Your voice shakier than you’d like.

“Isn’t it obvious foreigner? We are kidnapping you. Ransoming your release to your Aunt,” Akari says, a sneer evident on her face, all the smiles and kindness gone. “Now open you phone so we can call her and make our demands.” She tosses you smart phone across the table, screen waiting for the input code.

“…My hands are tied,” You say. “Could you take the ropes off? I’ll open the phone for you.”

“No. Too risky, you might try to escape. Tell us the code and he’ll open it for you,” She points at the very intimidatingly tall man who’d pushed your chair over.

Your mind is racing, what are you supposed to do? Should you tell them the password and let your Aunt know about all this? It’s the safest option, but even then you don’t know if they’ll let you go afterwards. No one knows where you are, no one can help you, and no one will help you unless you give into Akari and her thugs’ demands.

You make the decision, you want to live through this after all.

“Alright, I’ll tell you,” You say, feeling dread in your gut. Your poor Aunt, she’s busy and she doesn’t need this; and you think that something like this could turn into a diplomatic incident.

“Good, now speak girl,” Akari says, giving a smile full of greed.

You speak out your code for the phone, and the man beside you types it in; he passes it to Akari when it opens and Akari dials. The phone rings, and your Aunt picks up. You can only hear the trace of her voice coming from the speakers, but enough to tell that when she hears Akari’s demands she is worried and very upset.

“Would like to speak to your niece? She is right here with us,” Akari smiles and walks over to hold the phone to your ear.

“Aunty?” You say weakly.

“I’m right here pumpkin, don’t worry I’m going to get you out of there as soon as I can. I promise,” Your Aunt’s voice is strained and shaky.

You swallow and do something monumentally stupid. “I don’t know where, but I’m in a ware house and there are boxes of dried fish and instant noodles-“

You cut off because the man who drugged you hits you over the head. You cry out as he fists his hand in your hair, but that is also cut off when he clamps his other hand over your mouth.  
You see Akari talking into your phone again, telling your Aunt that if she calls the cops at all they will kill you. Your pulse sky rockets and you stop breathing all together. Akari tells you Aunt to wire five thousand dollars in a back account and call back right after.

Akari hangs up the phone and marches over to you again. The man who held you backs off so Akari can slap you across the cheek. She glares at you. “You are a very stupid girl. This is not a action movie, you are not a heroine. You are just a hostage and bargaining chip who doesn’t know anything. You had better hope that your Aunt is smarter than you are.”

You grit your teeth and close your eyes. Your cheek burns and so does your anger. But mostly, you are scared. At least they can’t kill you until they have the money. Everything would be worthless if you were dead.

“Get her out of my sight,” Akari says before switching into Japanese and speaking to the other three people who look very scary indeed. They all have weapons in plain sight, and you think one might be wearing Kevlar.

Akari shouts something at the man who has wheeled you away from the table and the blind fold reappears. He tells you to stay still and you do as he ties it around your head again.  
Now you can only hear the low voices bouncing between your kidnappers. They talk quietly and laugh occasionally, making you feel rather jaded that they think the kidnapping of you is laughing matter. This goes on for what feels like an eternity and you’re starting to have images of your bullet riddled body flash in your mind when your phone rings.

“Hello, have you done what we asked?” Akari asks in a way that is not much of a question. “Wait, you are not the girl’s Aunt, who are you?” You can hear the frown in her voice. Suddenly a loud and familiar voice is shouting out of your tiny phone speakers.

“(YNH)! Tell me where you are, I’m coming to find you!!” Davesprite’s voice shouts at you. You respond immediately. “I’m in a ware house full of instant noodles and dried fish, I don’t know where it is but please, don’t come here, they’ve got guns! Tell my Aunt where I am, tell someone-!” You’re shut up by a punch from someone. You scream breathlessly, they’ve punched your stomach and you feel like something is ripping inside you.

“Didn’t we tell you not to be stupid?!” Akari shouts at you. She screams into the phone. “I don’t know who you are, but if you breathe even a word to the police we will kill this girl before they get anywhere near here!!”

“Not calling the police,” Davesprite replies. But you don’t hear his voice from the phone, it comes from inside the room.  
Then there are screams, shouting, and gun fire. Metal on metal, and the sound of liquid hitting the floor. Then something is pressed against your temple and it is cold and you know what it is.

It is a gun and the barrel is right beside you head.

“あなたのモンスターは、戻って滞在！バックとどまるか私は彼女を撃つぞ!” Akari is screaming something at Davesprite.

“Hey lady, calm the fuck down and take the gun away from her head. We don’t need to do this,” Davesprite’s voice is low and dangerous sounding. You think you hear metal scraping against the ground. “There, I put down my weapon, so put down yours.”

“Hands where I can see them!” Akari has returned to English, but it’s sounding slightly garbled. The gun disappears and there’s a bang. The blind fold slips and you see the world again. Akari pointing a smoking gun at Davesprite, him clutching his chest, and Akari’s legs within kicking distance.

You kick with everything you’ve got and topple Akari, her legs giving easily. Davesprite is up in an instant and suddenly there, snatching the gun and throwing it away. He grabs Akari by the collar and hoist her into in the air. His wings are spread, feathers puffed up. His glasses are gone and you can see the anger in his eyes. His claws are tearing into Akari’s shirts and maybe her skin; you spot a little bit of red around her neck. Akari is crying now, overwhelmed with terror and fear for her own slimy life.

“I’m going to tell you right now Akari, if I ever find out your anywhere near (YNH) again, I’m not going to be so nice,” He gets right in her face and shows teeth. “And I can tell you, there is nowhere on this planet I won’t find you. You try anything that involves her or her Aunt from here till the day you die, you’ll be finding your grave a lot sooner.”

He drops her to the ground and she scrambles away, running for the door on the side of ware house. The door shuts and you breathe again. You take in the damage Davesprite did in the seconds following his spontaneous appearance. The unconscious and bleeding bodies of the four men who helped Akari in kidnapping you are scattered around the table in various positions.  
One is splayed on the table, bleeding from a slash across his chest. Another, you only see the foot of from behind a crate of Mr. Noodles. The last two are in a slump on the floor eight feet from the table, you think one is missing a hand.

Davesprite unties you and you rub your wrists. He doesn’t say anything as you look at the room.

“…Are you okay?” He asks finally. You nod and don’t look at him; you can’t tear your eyes from the bodies that litter the floor. Your eyes drift after a moment to the sword on the ground; the source of the metal sounds from earlier. It’s bright, bright orange and looks like a katana. It also has a bit of blood on it.

He notices your stare and it disappears, hidden away and back in whatever place it came from. You’re not sure what to say, with all that has just happened, so you pick the most inane thing you can. “What happened to your sun glasses?”

He blinks and notices they’re gone. “Shit, must have lost them in the fight. Hold on.” He flaps over to the table again and pokes around. You follow and retrieve your bag from the table top. Your cell phone is sitting out on the table too, so you pick it up and dial your Aunt.  
She must be frantic, you have to stop her before she transfers the money. She picks up on the first ring.

“I’m doing as you demanded, I swear. Please don’t hurt my niece, she’s all I’ve got left-!”

“No, no it’s me Aunty, everything fine now. I’m relatively okay,” You say, cutting her off. You hear her sob with relief into the phone.

“Oh god, oh god, oh god. Thank goodness you’re alright. What happened? Did the police show up?” She sniffling.

“No, Davesprite rescued me. I don’t know how, but he did. Akari ran off but the other guys are still here.”

“Call the police right now, let them take care of it. And then you’re coming straight home, I can’t feel okay until you’re here in front of me (YNH),” She sobs a little again. “Oh god, I’m so sorry this happened. You’re my niece and that’s the only reason they went after you.”

“I’m fine, it’s over and done with.”

“Promise you’ll come right home? I’m telling my secretary to get the jet ready to leave immediately.”

“Yeah, I think we will. I’ll call the police now, and then head straight back to the hotel.”

“Alright, please be careful. You don’t know if there are any more members of the group that kidnapped you,” Your Aunt’s concerned voice makes you cry a little. You want to be home right now with her right beside you, holding you in one of her hugs that make you ribs creak.

“Will you be there?” You ask quietly.

“Of course pumpkin, I’ll be waiting right on the tarmac for you,” She comforts. You say good bye one last time and hang up.

You turn around to face Davesprite who’s sitting on the table now, his long tail flicking back and forth on the ground. You clear your throat. “Thanks, for saving me and everything.”

“No problem,” He says back. His shades are back on his face and you can’t read him anymore. So you do something impulsive and step up to him, remove them and place them in his hands, and give him a hug.

“Really, thank you so much Davesprite,” You speak quietly into his shoulder.

“…Dave.”

“What?”

“My real name is Dave. Or it used to be before the prototyping,” He says, looking at you with burning orange, no, gold eyes. “I changed it because there was another me, but he’s gone or at least I am. So could you call me that?”

“What? Oh of course, why didn’t you say earlier?” You pull back from the hug, but he stops you and pulls you close again.

“Could you say it? Please?” He says, his breath brushing against your scalp. You say his name and he hugs you tighter. “I’m sorry I walked off on you like that. This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t gone off to get some stupid trinket.”

“What trinket, I thought you went to the washroom,” You ask confusedly. You are pushed back a little from your embrace as Davesprite-no, Dave digs a small box out of the pocket you hadn’t noticed on his shirt before. You take it and open it. Inside is a thin chain of silver with a like colored sword hanging on the middle. You look up at him again. “Dave… isn’t this sword from Bleach?”

He laughs a little. “Yeah, but it’s a katana too, so I thought why not. Get the shiny kinda symbolic thing and give it as a thank you present. Thought it was properly ironic and sincere at the same time.”

“I love it,” You giggle as you pull it from the box. You feel his sprite tail wrap itself loosely around your calves as you put the necklace on.

“…You not being kidnapped would have been better than the shitty necklace though,” He says, guilt clear in his voice.

You shake your head. “They would have gotten me one way or another, and you’d have been exposed in public too. That happening would have been worse.”

“No, I’m pretty sure you being dead would have been worse,” He says softly.

“I don't think I would have died, but-wait! You got shot didn't you?!” You pull out of his grasp and start frantically searching for the entry point of the bullet.

“Calm down, I’ve taken worse-”

“You got shot. There is no way you could be fine!” You find the bullet wound on the right side of his chest. It's bleeding very sluggishly, bright yellow blood oozing slowly out, so you don't think he'll bleed to death that way. Infection and internal bleeding though...

“How about you lie the hell down and let me put pressure on the wound?” You say, your voice rising. You’re panicking and you know this, but at least you’re still being objective about the panic.

“I'm really fine. Sprites are created to take punishment a lot harsher than this,” Dave grabs your hands and pulls them away from his chest. “Don't think this could kill me, not by a long shot; pun intended. See, I’ve had my whole wing chopped right off; but its right here, see?” He extends his wings to show his point. He tucks them away and continues. “A bullet shot by a human won't hurt me, it'll just itch like a bitch for another few hours. And then it'll be gone and I’ll be all fixed up.”

“That's kind of insane,” You say, laughing exasperatedly. “So it doesn't hurt at all?”

“Not unless I touch it. But when it went in though, I can't say that was exactly painless.”

“Do you need to rest? Getting shot is kind of big deal for most people.”

“I'm not most people remember? It's my job to guide and heal players, if I was out of action from a single bullet then I’d be pretty useless,” He releases your hands and twists away to fly to the door. He opens it and holds the door while slipping his shades back on. “I am however starving. I say we go back to the hotel, get our shit together, and hop on that nice jet your Aunt is sending for us.”

“Sounds good to me,” You say gratefully. You adjust your purse and follow Dave to the door, stepping over the small puddles of blood. You cast a glance at the almost corpses of your kidnappers. “Although we should probably call the police so these guys don’t die or something.”

“Probably, yes. But we can get that done outside the ware house,” Dave pulls you out into the night and shuts the door quietly. “Call nine one one, if that works here. I think it does, but who even knows. Japan,” He shrugs. “Epicenter for child pornography and mass producer of anime.”

“Ew, don’t even mention that,” You chuckle as you type in the emergency number.

“Which one, the complete waste of life and artistry/sick bastardization of children and young teens, or child porn?”

“Child porn dork,” You flick him on the shoulder as the phone begins to ring. “Now shush, I’m getting through. Hello?” The operator is surprised to hear your English, and they reply quickly in English that you’ll be transferred to a translator. Once connected after a pause of silence, a man on the phone picks up and asks professionally what the emergency is. “Hello, yes, I found four bleeding men in a warehouse near…” You put your hand over the phone and whisper to Dave. “Where are we?”

“Just a few blocks from Ginza actually,” Dave whispers back. He tells you the street numbers and you relay them to the officer on the phone.

“Miss, if you could please stay there until we arrive; we need to speak to you as a witness,” The officer tells you.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t be involved with this,” You say, looking at Dave’s glowing form beside you. “I have… circumstances.”

“Your identity won’t be revealed, but we need you to help us piece together what-“

“Nope, sorry. I would really love to stay and chat, but I’ve got to go. Bye~,” You hang up on the flustered officer and sigh. You look at Dave with a wry smile. “The things I do for you.”

“Much appreciated,” He replies. The wind blows through you shirt suddenly. It’s apparently gotten very late since you were last conscious; hence the cold night air. You shiver a little and look around at the buildings near the ware house. “How’d you find me by the way, you said we’re not far from Ginza, but how? It’s almost impossible to distinguish the individual ware houses around here. And how did you know that I was near Ginza still?”

“Too many question, slow down,” Dave rubs the back of his neck with his clawed hand. He bites his lip before answering. “Best way to describe is that it was intuition I guess. Sprite thing and all.”

“I don’t get it.”

Dave sighs loudly. “Sprites are programed to know the exact place and status of their players. I’m not an exception to this. When I landed on your planet, the first person I met was you. Apparently, which I didn’t notice till now, my coding decided you were a player and there for I needed to know your stats.”

You blink. “Whoa, wow. So you know where I am at all times?”

“Not really, I just have a vague sense of which direction you are. Not enough to find you, but enough to get a start,” Dave’s sprite tail winds around one of your ankles again and he drifts closer to you. “’S how I figured out you were in this ware house district. But when I got closer I lost the connection, so I called you. When I heard your voice on the other line, I was able to place your location easy peasy.”

“Huh, that’s really useful isn’t it? You must be such a cheater at hide and seek,” You grin and poke his arm. “So you have an internal tracking device, but only for specific people. That’ll be very helpful indeed if this ever happens again,” You turn away and cast what you like to think is a very melodramatic look at the general area of the next ware house. “Alas, being a poor little rich girl is so difficult. The down falls are such bother. Having to choose what type of caviar to have for dinner, suffering through those awful galas, etc.”

“Kidnapping is a little more serious than deciding what shoes to buy princess,” Dave rolls his eyes audibly. “You could have been killed in this whole mess, and like you said, it’ll probably happen again if you not careful.”

“They’re going to be after me no matter what kind of life I lead,” You say, brushing some mussed hair back into place with your fingers. “So I might as well lead the one I want.”

“I’d like to think you’ll be a bit more careful though,” Dave’s sprite tail is flicking in the air beside your calves, brushing against your skin once or twice every few moments. “And I’ll be more careful too, with leaving you out on your own and all.”

You turn around and look at him in surprise. “Really? You’re going to stick around and protect some random girl you just met for what, the rest of life or is this like a month long thing.”

“(YNH), do you really think I have anywhere else to go? Might as well stick around with a rich girl who can feed me every day. Every Knight needs a princess to save,” Dave drifts quietly to float in front of you. “Besides, I think you’re pretty cool.”

“Well I think you’re pretty cool too,” You say, smiling happily. “I’m glad I’m safe and all, but we’re wasting time,” You turn your head towards the sounds of sirens in the distance. “We should probably go before they get here.”

“Great, grab hold then,” Dave comes closer and you wrap your arms around his neck. His arms lift you up at the knees and then you’re off; into the night sky and heading back to the hotel.

“Wait, do you even know where the hotel is?” You ask over the sounds of the wind rushing past your ears.

“I have a good idea, I kept an eye on the streets while you were gabbing with Akari,” He dips his right wing and he circles smoothly through the air. “Gimme a moment to find the street we came over on and I can get us back.”

You nod and settle into his arms to enjoy the flight.  
From above, the busy world below seems insignificant and far away. Dave flies languidly almost, flapping only every third beat. You think he’s enjoying the flight too; he hasn’t had a chance to stretch his wings in a long while. Dave tips his wings up and he takes you high into the sky, skimming just below the cloud line.  
As you pass a low hanging cirrus cloud, you reach out and let your hand drag through the edge. It’s cold, startlingly so, but you continue to hold it there until the cloud has passed. Water droplets hang on your fingertips when you pull away, but they get swept away by wind almost immediately as Dave descends from the sky. You look at his face, watching his light orange hair be blown from his face. He has freckles, you notice, all along his hair line and just beneath his eyes. You’ve never been close enough to notice.

You lean over to his ear and say to him: “This is honestly the most stereotypical thing you could have done. I love it.”  
He laughs and he descends faster. The wind whips your hair, tangling it in your mouth and around your arms on Dave’s neck. The roof of the hotel is rapidly becoming closer and Dave begins to circle it. A spiral descent is how he lands you both, coming to a slow stop in the middle of the wide roof.

He sets you down and you breathe deeply, adrenaline coursing through your veins. You readjust your bag and fix your hair before marching for the door that leads back inside. Thankfully, the Japanese have an affinity for roof top smoking areas, so the door is unlocked. You peek inside, no one is there. It’s late at night anyways; everyone who’s out for the night will stay out or they’ve already retired to their rooms.  
You turn to tell Dave this and jump a little when he’s right behind you, having moved without a sound.

“Jesus! Don’t do that Dave!” You yell whisper. He just curls his lip up a little and you make a sarcastic smile at him. “I don’t see anyone inside, so if we make for the stairs quickly enough we should get to our room without problem.”

“Cool,” He says, following you inside. The door eases itself shut behind you both as you sprint walk down the hall. The stair way is right around the corner and you slip down quick as possible. Two turns later, you exit and hurry down the short hallway to the room you’ve rented out.

You fish out your key and open the door for Dave. He does something that you think might have been a sarcastic curtsey and then flies soundlessly into the room. You follow and shut the door quickly behind you.  
You dump your bag on the floor and kick off your shoes. A quick three jump steps and you flop onto your large comfy bed. “I cannot believe this was as exhausting as it was.”

“And here I though kidnapping was a relaxing sport, this shattered that delusion,” Dave says from his own bed. You turn over and see him lying on his stomach, wings splayed out to the sides slightly.

“…We probably be getting ready to leave now,” You groan. Dave mutter an explanative combined with “just five minutes please, I got shot for chrissake”. You chuckle slightly and roll onto your front and close your eyes. You can both deal with getting ready as soon as he recovers and you take a moment to revaluate your values in life.  
You think you might cut down on shopping for material items a bit and maybe ask your Aunt to spend more time with you. Speaking of material items… you slap your hands against your forehead.

“Shit. Where’re the things we bought?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder who picker up all those lovely things they bought.... lucky people, i totally would have picked them up myself. *waggles eyebrows*  
> Getting close to the end now, i think at least. Maybe two three chapters left in me.


	10. Part Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I am THE WORST author ever. It's been months since i even touched this thing but here i am anyways)  
> ((I suck, please read this chapter, apologies follow at the end as well as explanations))

Breathe in, breathe out; it gets easier after a few.

**********************************************************************************

Dave and you end up throwing everything you'd brought along into your suitcase at the last second. Because you'd both fallen asleep moment you closed your eyes. Or at least you did, Dave might not have.

The only reason you'd even woken up before it was the next morning was because Dave came told you there were people at the door knocking. They turned out to be the hired drivers to get you to the airport. Your Aunt, being as worried as she was, had hired what basically was an army of body guards. There were easily fifty of them waiting in the hotel lobby; another thirty out by the five black, non-descriptive cars in the parking lot.  
Only twenty five actually got into the cars with you, but there were another thirty waiting at the airport. The mob of black suited men and women that surrounded you and Dave as you made your way across the tarmac made Dave twitchy; you could see his hands moving underneath his long sleeves.

Your bags were taken and placed in the sleeping quarters, and the flight attendants made you both at home in the lounge; pointing out the snacks you could help yourselves to and setting up the telly to turn on automatically once the plane took off.  
Comfortably seated and covered with a blanket, you stare out the small airplane window and watch the ground begin to move underneath you. Leaning on the window sill, you sigh softly to yourself.

“Hey (YNH), you okay?” Dave asks from his side of the plane.

You shrug. “Yeah, but i guess the shock of being kidnapped and all is just hitting me now.” You rub your palms against your eye sockets. “Oh god, i got fucking kidnapped. How stereotypical is that?”

“Trouble in Tokyo,” Dave comments.

“Is that another reference?”

“No.”

“I bet it is.”

“You don't know anything so shut up.”

“Neeeeerd,” You drawl at him. He flips you off and you flip him right back, then dissolve into giggles. “Okay, but seriously, i think i need a bit of quiet time to process the whole 'Kidnapped-by-nut-jobs' thing. You cool with that?”

“Cool as ice. You got any I-pods i could snitch off of you? I recall you having one at some point along the way.”

“Um, sure.” You reach down and pick your purse off the floor, rifling briefly, and chucking your ear buds and I-pod across the cabin. Dave catches it in mid-air with his sprite tail, while his hands are busy yanking off his veil.

“Thanks,” He says, plugging the buds into his ears. You watch him as he carefully moves around the song choices with his odd hands. His claws never touch the glass of the screen, only the rough pads of his fingertips skim its surface.  
He settles on something and leans back into his chair. His sunglasses are already perched on his face again, but you can guess that Dave has closed his eyes. You follow his unwitting advice and close your own and immerse yourself in your own thoughts.

Hours pass like that, quietly trading the IPod back and forth. You browse the internet on a lap top that's kept on the plane, but quickly get bored and trade with Dave again. It's calming yet agonizing to wait so long for the plane to reach home again, where your Aunt is waiting with open arms.  
You'd be on the phone with her periodically throughout the flight, but that's not allowed. Electromagnetic waves or something, you'd never bothered to find out.

Every half hour or so, you close your eyes again and black out for around forty minutes. The stress of the past day has gotten to you and there's nothing, but sleep to cure it. Third time you fall asleep, you wake up again to find a warm blanket draped over you. Blearily, you glance around for Dave; he is also in his chair, disguise in place and snoring quietly.

You smile and get up to transfer the blanket to him. You take the computer back in exchange and boot it up to check social media sites for changes in the last hour.

Dave doesn't wake up again for three hours, and when he does it's startling. You'd had your head phones on, the good pair that blocks sound, so you hadn't noticed the distressed mumbling Dave made in his sleep.  
You nearly tossed the computer onto the floor in surprise when Dave leaps out of his seat and onto the ceiling. His hands latched onto the fabric roof and his wings struggling under his dress to spread wide; his face was tight with fear of whatever he'd been dreaming. His veil was lying on the floor, torn off by his frantic clawing when he woke up.

You pulled you headphones hurriedly off and set the computer down (gently) on your seat as you got up. “Dave...? Dave, are you alright?”

His eyes, shining neon orange through the sunglasses, flickered to you. As his breathing steadied, he pulled his claws out of the plane's ceiling. He floated back down into his chair and rubbed his face with his hands, skewing his glasses upwards. “Yeah... yeah I’m fine; just a bad dream. Sorry about the roof.”

“Bad dreams don't make people claw up ceiling usually.”

Dave hadn't responded, shutting the conversation down regardless of your prompts to tell you what the dream had been about. In the end you conceded defeat and returned to your own seat.  
Neither of you talked the rest of the way, and Dave didn't sleep again.  
Your Aunt was blissfully already on the tar mac, as she said she'd be, when you finally got out of the stuffy atmosphere of the plane.

You rush off the mobile stairs attached to the plane and right into your Aunt's arms. She holds you tight and you squeeze back just as much. She sniffles a little into your hair and whispers “Thank god” over and over.  
You tear up a little too; you’re fully safe for the first time in what feels like days. Because your Aunt is here and she won't let anything else happen.

Your Aunt breaking from the embrace slightly brings your eyes away from her and to the figure covered head to tail behind you both. She motions for Dave to come closer and he does, only to be swept up into the now group hug. He makes a bird like sound as your Aunt hugs you both together.

“Thank you so much Davesprite,” She says in a hushed tone. Her makeup is smudged now, but you doubt she's in the mood to care. Your Aunt gives him another one armed hug. “I don't think, no, i know i wouldn't have been able to handle never seeing my niece again. You saved her and i can't even begin to thank you enough.”

“It's nothing,” Dave says softly back, ducking his veil clad head. He moves out of the hug and your Aunt lets him.

“I'm serious, i can't ever thank you enough,” Your Aunt pulls you close again and you allow her comforting hug to wrap around you; you don't even care that there are tons of other people watching. Your Aunt smiles down at Dave. “Since i can't express how grateful i am with words, I’ll do it with actions. My company reaches worldwide and i literally have money to burn. If you ever need anything at all, houses, boats, material items, you name it and it's yours.”

“I.... wow. Thanks ma'am,” Dave sounds flustered now. “Wow, i mean, you'd really do anything?”

“Anything within my ability, yes.”

Dave takes a deep breath and let's it out as a low whistle. “I think I’ll need some time to figure just what i do want.”

“Take all the time you need, i can wait,” Your Aunt replies. She exchanges a look with you that makes you grin. “Until you do figure it out, are you still going to be staying with us? Lord knows we have the room.”

“I'd appreciate that,” Dave says calmly, playing it off. You smile widely at him and you hope he's smiling back under that veil of his.  
Your Aunt's limo, stretch no less, is waiting on the edge of the tar mac. Edson is holding the door open and smiling kindly as you three approach.

“Nice to see you safe and sound Miss,” He says, tipping his hat to you. He flicks his eyes over to Dave and nods to him too. “And the young lad as well.”

You sputter a little and so does Dave, albeit a little more quietly. “You knew?”

“I'm old, but I’m not so old my eyes don't work anymore,” Edson's eyes twinkle as he waves for you all to clamber in. “I'm a retired body guard remember? It's my job to know what's going on around my charges.”

“Which is why i keep you around,” Your Aunt says as she slips into the car. You climb in after her and then Dave follows. Edson shuts the door and walks briskly around to the driver's seat. Seat belts click and Edson shuts his door, starting the car with a quiet purr. He pulls away from the runway smoothly and guides the car around the mass of black vehicles that are going ahead and behind you. Body guards, loads of them and armed to the teeth no doubt; your Aunt isn't going to take second chances.

Dave opens the com system between the back and the driver’s seat and leans in to speak. “Okay, spill. How'd you know i was a dude?”

“It is rare to find a young lady with such broad shoulders. And not only that, you do not hold yourself like a woman, you slouch like an adolescent boy,” Edson's voice says through the speaker as Dave makes a noise of protest at his comment.

“I don't slouch,” Dave replies sulkily.

“Yes you do,” You say traitorously, loud enough for Edson to hear. Your Aunt and he laugh as Dave just glares at you, having lifted the veil just to do so. You smirk. “You know we're right.”

“Sure,” He replies frostily. He lets the veil drop and he crosses his arms. You stick out your tongue childishly, feeling light and happy.  
The car lapses into pleasant conversation and banter. Edson comments now again and sometimes ask questions about a topic or two. You omit the things involving what Dave looks like, but you don't think Edson would tell anyone regardless. He's kept many a secret for your Aunt and yourself, but it doesn't mean he's ready to learn about other dimensions quiet yet.  
You get the feeling he knows Dave's not normal, but Edson says nothing, but a polite goodbye as he lets you all out of the limo. Once you have your bags out, you wave to him as he pulls away, quietly thanking he's such an understanding employee.

“Well, this has been fun and exciting, but i think I’m going to go spike some hot chocolate for myself. You’re welcome to some, just not the spiked part,” Your Aunt says jauntily as she climbs the stone steps into the mansion.

You have to agree with her, time to have some R and R. You rarely even leave home for the nearby towns, this adventure has plumb tuckered you out. A glance at Dave beside you tells you that he's just as tired as you.

“We'd love some!” You call after your Aunt, and she calls back an affirmative and a request for you two to go and sit in the living room. You abandon your suitcase in the foyer, you'll deal with it later.

“Got any marshmallows?” Dave yells into the kitchen as you both pass the open door.

“Coming right up,” Your Aunt yells back. You let your purse/bag-thing slip onto the floor beside the couch as you flop over the arm face first into the cushions.

“I am never moving again and no one will ever be able to make me,” You muffle into the blue cushions.

“Saaaaame,” Dave drawls, tossing his dress and veil onto the floor next to your bag/purse-thing. He floats across the room, much higher off the ground than he has since disguising himself, and stretches his wings. You turn your head and watch him snap and pop his bones. His wings are bright orange against the waning light from outside the floor length windows of the room. Actually, they're so bright they're starting to hurt your eyes a tad.

“Why're you so fucking bright?” You ask a little confused. Dave doesn't stop getting brighter as he turns around.

“What? What do you mean?” Dave takes a glance at himself in the big mirror above the mantle. Then a second take. “Well, that's new.” He says weakly as the whole of his form starts to look less like a muffled flash light and more like a newly cracked glow stick.

“Kids, what's that light-ohmygod,” Aunt drops the three mugs of hot chocolate she's carrying into the room as Dave fluorescent skin starts to super nova.

“DaAAAVE?” Your voice pitching as you jerk yourself off the couch and stumble towards Dave.

“Holy shit holy shit, i don't know what's happening, holy SHIT,” Dave sounds just as panicky as you feel. “(YNH), stay back. I don't know what the fuck this is but-” He cuts off and starts screaming.

“Jesus FUCK,” You yell as you cover your eyes. Dave is so bright now you can't see anything of him or anything near him; his side the room is like staring into the sun. You grope with one hand over your eyes, searching with the other for Dave. Your hand meets the end of his tail briefly before it whips away; Dave is thrashing in the air, wings beating erratically.

“Dave!” You try to be heard over the sound of his now raspy screaming. “Dave-!” One of his wings smack you on the back of your head and you meet the carpet with an ‘oof’. “Son of a bitch, DAVE!” You stand back up and open your eyes even though they water. Like when someone looks at the sun, you can see the outline of Dave's body.

But that outline is getting fainter as the searing light coming from Dave gets brighter. He's screaming and screaming and screaming and the world is starting to go off its axis. You can feel the carpet your standing on suddenly become closer to a water bed. Your Aunt is somewhere in the background yelling at both of you, but you can't hear her above the din of Dave and the steadily increasing air pressure.  
You flinch and cover your ears, the pressure akin to dropping out of the jet stream in an air plane; but it's moving towards being in the deep end of a pool.  
Then everything implodes and all the light recedes rapidly back into Dave alongside with your ears popping loudly. There's a loud thump beside you and you blink again and again to get rid of the spots in your vision.

“(YNH)?! Are you alright?” Your Aunt is pulling you off the floor and into her arms. Your fumble as you try to figure out which part of her is touching you. “Forgive my french sweetie, but what the fresh fuck was that?!”

“Hn... 's Dave alright?” You mutter to her as you rub your eyes again.

“Well uh, i don't know. He's... missing some limbs? And sort of gained some,” Your Aunt says vaguely. Your scrunch your nose, that makes no sense.

“That makes no sense,” You blink a bit more as your vision finally clears. Then you get a good look at Dave, who happened to be the thump you heard a moment ago. “Or maybe it does...?”

Dave is lying, sprawled really, facing away from you. But he doesn't look like Dave anymore. You can't see his face, but you can see most of him. The only thing orange anymore is his hair; and even it had dulled. The rest of him is covered in ordinary clothing. His tail, wings, and glow are all gone.  
You slowly crawl the few feet over to him, reaching out to turn him onto his back. You bit your lip as you get a good look at his face. It's still him, but more... human now. His dumb orange shades are on his face still, regardless of the drama, and freckles still dot his face. More visible now that he's a pale teenage boy.

Bright orange hair though, only strange thing about him left. He's wearing what seems like two shirts layered over one another, skinny jeans, and dirty old high tops; he seems like any other regular kid.

“Dave,” You shake his shoulder gently. “Dave, wake the hell up and tell me what just happened.” You hiss at him, shaking him a little less gently.

“Nnn...” Dave raises his hand and pushes your hand away. “Everything needs to stop spinning.” He pushes his glasses off his face and his eyes; thank goodness, his eyes were still a familiar neon orange. He blinks owlishly at you and scrunches his nose while folding the glasses and... Letting them disappear?

“Why am I on the floor?” He says in a confused voice.

“I'm wondering that myself,” Your Aunt pipes up, sounding a little breathless. You understand that feeling, considering what just happened.

You hold out your hand for Dave to grasp, and he does, but stops when he sees that his hand is lacking it's usual claws. He pulls out of your hand and stares at his own in disbelief; shock playing over his face. You're startled in backing away via falling over a tad when he bolts upright, Dave twitching his declawed hands in front of his face over and over.

“No way,” He breathes. Then he catches sight of his legs and he grabs at his knees. His face lights up and you smile just as widely as he does. You think he's tearing up a little. “I'm human. Holy shit. They won the Game. And I didn't stop existing!” He attempts to scramble to his feet, but falls and you catch his arm. He's laughing breathlessly and you don't think you've seen him this expressive or happy before.

“I'm alive and I’m normal and wow I missed being able to stand on my own feet on the actual ground with my actual legs,” Dave sounds delirious with endorphins.

“I don't understand what just happened, but good for you kid,” Your Aunt comes over and starts looking Dave over. “So, did you plan on suddenly losing the bird look?”

“No, I was supposed to get deleted when the Game was won or lost, but I didn't!” Dave pushes your hand off his arm and he stands on his own legs. “Shit, I think I’m might cry some very manly tears right now, 'm alive.” His voice breaks at the end of his sentence and you see a small manly tear make a track down his cheek.

“Do you need to sit down, cause you’re a little wobbly there Dave,” You’re a little concerned about his shaking legs. He nods and he takes the five steps to the couch by himself. Once he's sitting down, Dave starts laughing again.

“Wow, three years without legs,” Dave is staring at his lower appendages. He reaches down and tugs his ratty high tops off and tosses them to the side; which are followed by his socks. Wonder is what shines in his eyes as he wiggles all ten of his perfectly pale toes.

“Um, important note though, you said you thought you were going to die when the game was over and you didn't tell me that?” You feel a bit hurt now that you think about it, that kind of information is something you should tell your friends.

“Never got around to it, sorry. I mean, between the kidnappings and traveling the world I guess I kind of forgot,” Dave pokes at his toes and grins when he can feel the touch. “It wasn't something I wanted to dwell on much. Who would want to think about they're inevitable death? I had better stuff to think about.”

“Well that's great and everything, but this doesn't explain why you just went turned into a fireworks show in my living room,” Your Aunt gives you both a hard stare, arms crossed.

“Whoops, sorry ma'am. Probably should fill you in on that,” Dave sheepishly rubs the back of his neck.

“Can we have some more hot chocolate Aunty? I noticed you sort of dropped the first batch,” You say, looking at the growing stain on the carpet. “I feel like this could be a long conversation.”  
Your Aunt rolls her eyes at both of you and sighs exasperatedly; but goes to whip up another batch of hot drinks; she isn't going to bother with the spill, she'll just give the house keepers a bonus tomorrow.

When she gets back she places all three on the table, pushing two towards you and Dave. You giggle a little when Dave nearly drops his cup in surprise at the temperature; apparently he's got a bit of a cat's tongue.  
Your Aunt reclines in her love seat across from you and Dave's couch and crosses her legs. Taking a sip from her (spiked) hot chocolate, she levels her familial gaze at you both. “So, start from the beginning please.”

***********************************************************************************

Dave and you both proceed to regale your Aunt with different ideas about why Dave is still alive even after the game was completed. Eventually, you both come to the decision that maybe Dave was restored to human form and left alive was because he was originally a human and a game player.  
Your Aunt adds that perhaps fate is being kind, and trying to make up for the hardships the game inflicted on Dave.

The moment though that Dave sees his reflection in one of the metallic potted plants in the room causes another panic.  
Dave, according to him, had blonde hair as a human; as well as red eyes. He's not entirely unhappy about the new look, but he grimaces at his hair and eye colour.

“Couldn't even be normal orange, it looks like some demented Kool-Aid flavor,” Dave rubs a few strands of his neck length hair between his fingers. You try to picture the boy beside you on the couch as a blonde haired individual with blood red eyes and just can't see it; the Dave you know has orange all over him.  
You don't dislike his new look (old look?) per say, but his sprite form had a certain charm to it.

Later that evening, you all eat ordered take out from a Chinese place in town. Sitting out on the patio, watching the world darken as you exchange conversations. The big question that's floating in and out of focus is what Dave is going to do now that he looks like a regular human.

“Do you think there's any possibility that your friends might come looking for you? You did say Jade had space powers,” You ask as you roll a piece of pork around in the take out box with your chop sticks.

“Don't know,” Dave replies, swallowing bite of noodles. “I don't think they've even noticed I’m missing. Or maybe someone did, but they think I’m dead. I thought i was gonna end up dead at the end of this mess; so i wouldn't hold it against them to assume the same thing.”

“Still, what about 'no man left behind'?” Your Aunt questions.

“Technically, i was a bird Sprite creature for most of the game, so i don't really think i count.”

“Well i think that's bullshit. You’re a walking, talking, sentient person; they ought to remember their team mates. Especially ones who've given so much up,” You look at Dave and don't break your gaze. “From what you told me, you gave up your right to be one of the players for the sake of everyone else.”

“It's what i was supposed to do. I'm-I was the Knight of Time, and anyone who ends up with the designation of Time player has to be ready to make sacrifices. Being a Sprite informed me of that much, and i already knew that when i made the decision to go back and prototype myself.”

“Doesn't mean they should toss you off like yesterday's paper!” You clutch your chop sticks, frustrated by Dave's response and his 'Team mates'.

“It sort of does though. That's the whole point of doomed timelines, they keep the main one functioning towards the right outcome, and then vanish,” Dave put his box of noodles down on the table and folds his hands together, rubbing the nails of his fingers. “By all rights, i should be really, really dead right now. Doomed version of players aren't supposed to get to live. It's a miracle I’m even sitting here right now, and not spinning off into the furthest ring.”

“... I'm sensing you have some issues with self-worth Dave,” Your Aunt says, catching both of your attentions. Until that point, she'd been sipping her wine calmly as we'd slowly escalated the conversation.

“I do not-”

“Now kiddo, i haven't lived forty three and half years and not picked up on some things. I had a very, very close friend back in my high school days, she was such a dear; but her family was always knocking her down about what she thought of herself. She never even made it to senior year,” Your Aunt leans back in her chair and sighs deeply. She takes on the look of someone seeing things far past, which she is. “Because she had such a blind fold over her, she couldn't see just how many people thought she was the grandest thing. Look at me Dave,” Your Aunt looks him dead in the eye, and he returns in unflinchingly. “You've been through some horrors; things shouldn't have happened to you no matter the circumstance. You've been to war, and made the ultimate sacrifice. You saved every single one of your friends' lives, and whether or not they acknowledge this, this makes you a hero.

“So don't go around saying you aren't supposed to exist right now, because as far as I’m concerned, and I’m sure (Y/N/H) agrees, you deserve every last second of the life you’re going to live from here on out.”

Dave moves his gaze from your Aunt's, his mouth a tight line. “Yeah, i guess.”

“You'll come around, it's small steps,” Aunty sips a bit of her wine, then places the glass down and stands up. “I don't know about the both of you, but i am bushed to heck and back. My bones need sleep, so I’m about the go get some. Would you be dears and clear the table off?”

“Sure thing Aunty.” “On it.” You and Dave tell her as your Aunt picks up her own plate and utensils and waltzes back inside.

Dave leans back in his chair and draws one knee up to rest his head on. He's looking down at his feet again, still bare and the sneakers inside, and he sighs once before flicking his eyes back to you. He and you stare at each other for a moment, and then Dave laughs quietly. “You know, i think i missed having legs mostly because there are only so many sitting positions when your ass is a snake tail.”

You didn't expect that comment at all, what with the tense subjects floating around, and so choke a little on your own laughter. You cover your mouth and keep laughing between words. “So how many positions are there when your 'ass' is a snake's?”

“...I think the number was fifteen.”

“You counted?”

“Hey, it was a long three years,” Dave takes his head off his raised knee and looks at you challengingly. “And in my defense, the conversation options i had were between two god tiered dorks and whole bunch of other Game npc's. And one granny Sprite and one cat Sprite.”

“A cat sprite? Oh my god, i bet they chased you.”

“I'm not going to answer that question.”

“They so did. 'Cause you were a fucking bird.”

And just like that the tension is swept under the rug and the two of you banter back and forth for at least another ten minutes before cleaning up the table. After that, it's bed time, because honestly, what a nightmare the last forty eight hours were.

That's what you think as you toss the day's clothes into the hamper in your room. Dave's tucked away in his room on the other side of the house, and your Aunt is already sawing logs in her's down the hall. And you personally are ready to drop dead, on your bed, and never again raise your head.

“Why does the body need so much sleep,” You complain to yourself as you flop into your bed. Pulling the covers up to your torso, you open you tablet and read a bit of fanfiction to put yourself to rest. After watching your otp confess their love for one another once again in a new fiction, you click off the lamp beside your bed.  
Looking at the silken curtains surrounding your four poster bed, you wonder what the worlds to going to bring for you and Dave now. Dave's isn't even from the same universe, and you know very little so far about it. Can he even adjust to a normal life after everything he went through?

'He doesn't even seem to know,' You think softly. A small worry persists in the back of your mind though, small and selfish. 'What if he decides to leave?' You've only known him for a very short amount of time, for him to walk out of your life now feels something akin to losing something precious. Your friendship with him is new, delicate and tentative, but you think that you two could get along well if given more time.  
The lingering attraction to him, (curse hormones and teenage need and stupid, stupid fantasies about inhuman boys), just adds to you wanting him to stay. But why would he? Your Aunt has promised him anything in the world she can buy. He doesn't need to stay here for safety either anymore, because he looks normal enough to make his own way in the world.

It's a depressing thought to fall asleep on, so you turn your mind onto a different item of interest.

'I wonder if Peridot really will end up becoming a Vegeta character...' You wonder, remembering the more recent episodes of Steven Universe. With soft edged scenes of a new green Aunt for Steven filling your mind and pushing worries aside until the morning, you let brain taper off into the world of dreaming.

You can fret about relationships tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck, i took forever to get around to finishing this chapter, and i apologize forever.  
> I had this about half ways done back in april, but i had to put away my personal writing because i was trying to balance a level thirty social course with a level thirty english course. It was a very long, and arduous semester, but i pulled it off; barely. - ^ -  
> Along with that, i was dealing with a long distance relationship, (my girlfriend lives in mexico, and it's hard on us both), and some rough friendship break ups.  
> Bright side though, i'm a graduate now, (though i have to go back to upgrade my sciences, bluh), and my girl is coming home for a few weeks on the twenty first. (can't wait!)  
> I'm so sorry you all chose to inflict yourself with this fiction, but i am forever grateful you did decide to. I am going to finish this damn thing, i've come this far, so i can't give up!  
> So encouragement would be awesome, via some comments, and it'll remind me to stop reading other people's fictions long enough to work on my own. 0 v -
> 
> (kudos to anyone who caught the reference in here from a fav cartoon of mine)
> 
> ((also, Aunty was hella gay for the lady she described, who was based on someone in my life who tried to commit suicide this year.))

**Author's Note:**

> Did people enjoy this? This would be my first insert yourself fanfiction. No idea when I’ll update, but if you readers like it, I’ll try to shove it into my day.  
> Reviews will be worshipped, kudos will be forever loved.
> 
> \- W


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